Category: DROKACADEMY
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Every Saturday at Three O’Clock: How a Small City Keeps a Big Promise
This image was created to hold a feeling more than a map. It tells the story of an ordinary Saturday in Kamloops that has become anything but ordinary. Children, parents, grandparents, neighbours—people who may not share the same language, politics, or past—standing together because some things are clearer than differences. The clock in the picture…
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A Letter from the Heart: Ukraine Under Fire, the World Must Not Look Away
Dear Friends, As I write this on the morning of January 9th, 2026, my birth country and the place I was born (Lviv) is buried under snow, gripped by freezing temperatures approaching -20°C, and under relentless assault from Russian missiles and drones. Last night, Russia launched one of its largest combined attacks: at least 20…
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Not to Win, but to Take Part
There are moments in life when belonging doesn’t arrive as a document or a promise, but as a feeling that settles in your chest and says, this is home now. For me, one of those moments came on a January morning in my fifth year of teaching at the University of Manitoba. It was January…
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Venezuela, U.S. intervention history, and why Latin America — and Ukraine’s allies — are reading this moment carefully
Preamble: Today’s events, travel, and what listening teaches Today’s news from Venezuela has landed heavily for many people — emotionally, politically, and personally. For me, it brought back memories of traveling through Panama in 2024, where conversations with locals quietly revealed how long the shadow of U.S. intervention still stretches. Not in slogans or outrage,…
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𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗨𝗸𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲 — 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟯1, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱
Dear Stand with Ukraine supporters, As I sit down to write this final update of 2025, I find myself overwhelmed with gratitude. You are one of approximately 700 people who receive these monthly messages—700 individuals and families across Kamloops, across Canada, and around the world who have chosen to stand with Ukraine. I’ll be honest…
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Day 1,403. Saturday #201. The last Saturday of 2025.
Kamloops stands with Ukraine. Today marked our 201st consecutive Saturday gathering near City Hall—almost four years of unwavering solidarity since February 24, 2022. None of us ever wanted to be here. We all know why we stand. And yet, we keep coming. The December cold doesn’t stop us. Whether it’s winter frost or summer sun,…
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Hope After Christmas: Ten Lessons from the Soviet Collapse and Ten Reasons for Hope Today
December 26, 2025 — 34 years since the fall of an empire Today marks the anniversary of one of history’s most significant moments. On December 26, 1991, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics—a superpower that had shaped global politics for nearly seven decades, possessed thousands of nuclear weapons, and controlled the lives of hundreds of…
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Thank You, Kamloops: Six Years of Light, Love, and Community
Thank You, Kamloops: Six Years of Light, Love, and Community As we enter the sixth year of the Kamloops Winter Holiday Lights Map, my heart is full of gratitude for this remarkable community. What began in 2020 as a small pandemic project has grown into something far more meaningful—a celebration of creativity, generosity, and the…
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From St. Nicholas Day to Your Bookshelf: Three Boxes of Ukrainian-Canadian Stories Seek Kamloops Homes
December 6th was a day filled with the warmth of community, tradition, and unexpected gifts. It began at our weekly Stand with Ukraine gathering—the space we have held faithfully every week since February 24, 2022, when Russia’s full-scale invasion changed everything. Among those who joined us that day was Jeanne from the Ukrainian Canadian Congress…
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From Temporary Refuge to Permanent Home: Why Canada Must Create a Clear PR Pathway for CUAET Holders in Ukrainian
#PRforCUAET Вже вдома. Час це офіційно визнати. Визнання корінних народів: Ми з повагою визнаємо, що Канада побудована на традиційних, споконвічних і невідступлених територіях корінних народів — Перших Націй, інуїтів та метисів — які були охоронцями цієї землі з незапам’ятних часів. Виступаючи за шляхи до постійного резидентства для переміщених українців, ми вшановуємо корінні народи, які першими…
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From Temporary Refuge to Permanent Home: Why Canada Must Create a Clear PR Pathway for CUAET Holders
#PRforCUAET Already Home. Now Make It Official. Land Acknowledgment: We respectfully acknowledge that Canada is built on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of Indigenous Peoples—the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis—who have been stewards of this land since time immemorial. As we advocate for pathways to permanent residency for displaced Ukrainians, we honour the Indigenous…
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Postcards That Carry Courage: A Special Zoom Event
Postcards That Carry Courage: A Special Zoom Event Saturday, December 20, 2025 9:00 AM Pacific | 12:00 Noon Eastern Duration: Approximately 1 hour You’re warmly invited to join a virtual gathering with Helen and Jean-Michel, the founders of Postcards to the Front Canada—the organization that, since spring 2023, has sent nearly 16,000 postcards to Ukrainian Defenders. Combined with their sister branch…