It's a story that can be told tens of thousands of times a year.  Two grads staring careers are making a home.  One has had to move to be there.  They are full of trust, enterprise and love.  And so it can be sayid tens of thousands of times a year:  Canada shines!

Around the time of the Second World War hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians united around an independence movement. The military arm of that drive was the UPA. Today, Nasha Kasha tells the story of these partisans, who first formed ranks 75 years ago.

In Northern Ontario, Lake Superior cascades into Lake Huron. Travelers had to portage around it. They named the land Sault Ste Marie. Today a church called St. Mary’s has become a link of its own- a place to portage around life’s troubles.

Filip Konowal was a highly decorated Canadian soldier.  He is the only Eastern European recipient of the Victoria Cross.  It's the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy given to Commonwealth and British soldiers.  Nasha Kasha presents his story and how one Ontario Ukrainian community is honouring him at a time of Remembrance.

Can you live close to the man who raises you, while knowing next to nothing about his true past? Meteorologist, lecturer and city councillor Richard Zurawski would discover in later years that he had a heritage and a story rooted in Lviv, Ukraine. This episode of Nasha Kasha tells of a father’s lies and a son’s search for his true self.

He has survived an abusive home life, the loss of four siblings. Somehow with the support of religious and family care givers, he grew in self awareness.  Today, Fr. Anton Szymychalski with help from his enthusiastic volunteers, rolls up his sleeves daily to feed the pallats and hearts of his Ukrainian Church parishioners. "Work is prayer", he'll tell you.

Odessa Ontario is 26 kilometres west of Kingston. It is in the very heart of British Loyalist country. The county is called Loyalist. So why in the mid-1850s would the villagers name their community after a Ukrainian port? The answer is this week’s Nasha Kasha story.

Ukrainians in Canada’s three Maritime provinces, who want to maintain their roots, Ukrainian religious life and language are pretty much on their own. Churches and national organizations have largely ignored anyone living east of Quebec City because populations are relatively small.

 Here is the second of four reports about being Ukrainian in the Maritimes. It comes to you from Prince Edward Island, where some remarkable Canadians have found their own ways to keeping their heritage alive.

July 23rd, Nasha Kasha recorded the second of two shows at the Capital Ukrainian Festival in Ottawa. It came off without a hitch. Then a festival staffer handed me my M-Track II digital audio recorder. To my dismay, I found that the show was missing. All I could hear was hiss.  What you are about to hear is my back-up cell phone recording, which was enhanced thanks to Gerry Hotson of Hot Sounds in St. Catharines.

It was a  last minute inclusion that brought Ukrainian athletes to Toronto for the 2017 Invictus Games.  They join 16 NATO countries in competitions.  The events recognize soldiers, who have been hurt in battle, having risen from some terrible injuries.  Now that are getting better and inspiring others.