EnglishConnect’s expansive and welcoming scope has been on display recently in Calgary, Canada. Many Ukrainian refugees fleeing conflict have been blessed by the opportunity to learn English. Local Latter-day Saints welcomed the opportunity to help their new neighbors.
“How challenging it is to go to another country and not speak the language,” said Collin Steele, a Church leader in Calgary. “We felt a desire and a need to support them, that we had a responsibility to the community.”
“I read the EnglishConnect resources, and the Church produces fantastic material,” added Dustin Thompson, a local Latter-day Saint in Calgary. “We started a [group], and it doesn’t take many people to get it organized as long as [the volunteers] love what they’re doing. We didn't know how many people were going to come. Then it grew. Now we get 45 to 70 people that come, and that’s only a year later of having people come in.”
Oleksandr Gurinov, a Ukrainian immigrant in Calgary, praised the program for h...