Stephen (Stefko) Ostafichuk BIO

Date and Place of Birth:  June 17,1958, Oshawa, Ont.
Mother: Janet Evelyn Thompson, b. Nov. 2,1929, Kerrobert, Sask. Canada
Father: Mykola Ostafichuk, b. Feb. 24,1919, Trostyanets, Ukraine

Stefko Ostafichuk studied Political science and Sociology at the University of Waterloo in Ontario. For 38 years he has worked as an international researcher/recruiter in the staffing business in technology and new product development.

Stefko’s father, Mykola, was very active in Prosvita* and helping the OUN** in Trostyanets. Fleeing persecution in Ukraine from the Soviets after WWII, Mykola and his parents stayed in a Displaced Person’s Camp in Landeck, Austria for two years. Mykola had studied medicine in Innsbruck previously and was able to obtain a contract with the Canadian government to work as a doctor with the Indigenous First Nations in Nanaimo B.C. He arrived in Edmonton, Alberta with his parents in 1948 and worked in Nanaimo until 1953. He completed his residency in Victoria, B.C. where he met his wife, Janet Thompson, a paediatric nurse. They were married in a Ukrainian church in Edmonton and Janet, of Acadian and British heritage, quickly adopted the Ukrainian language and culture.

Stefko, his two brothers and his sister Leda were brought up in the Ukrainian community in Oshawa, attending Ukrainian school, completing their matura***, dancing in the Ukrainian dance group, and taking part in International jamborees with the Ukrainian youth organization SUM.

Knowing that the family housekeeper and nanny, Mrs. Karpenko, lost two children during the Holodomor, Steve has been very active developing, fundraising and distributing educational materials about the Ukrainian genocide. He produced a nine minute video about a child’s experience living through the Holodomor which was shown on Parliament Hill in Ottawa to MPs and Senators in November, 2012 for the 80th anniversary of the Holodomor.

Stefko says that his prime motivator is his passion for Ukrainian democracy and sovereignty after decades of subjugation.  He honours his family's memory and the many millions who died for Ukrainian independence by moving this cause forward. That also entails raising funds for the olympic pool, new kitchen, playground and  chapel at camp Veselka, where Steve volunteers as a caretaker.

* Ukrainian organization promoting Ukrainian culture and education.
** Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists
*** Ukrainian graduation certificate

INTERVIEW EXCERPT

Date and place of interview: Feb. 8, 2021, Toronto, Ont.
Length of Interview: 76 minutes
Interviewer: Ariadna Ochrymovych
Language: English

Steve:  So basically I call myself “piata khvylia” *, a fifth wave everybody knows about the four waves of immigration. The fifth wave is when you were born and raised in the hromada (community) and you leave for whatever reason, career, life, marriage, whatever and then over a period of time you find your roots and you come back. So I had a thirty year holiday from the Ukrainian community, so when I came back I'm full of vim and vigour and ideas and it's given me a sense of purpose and when I met my wife that just cemented it.

Interviewer: When did you come back?

Steve: 2007 into the community. When I came back to Oshawa I went for a meeting for the hall and the old guys decided that they wanted to sell the place because “de nachi dity?”**…. And that was the theme and I said no we're not selling and they go who the hell are you? and I go, I’m Stefko Ostafichuk.

And everybody said, we thought you were dead, we haven't heard from you for 30 years. And I said, Well give me a month. I physically called, as a head hunter, called up all the people who I grew up with and said we're having a meeting, pay your dues, we are taking over the hall administration and we're going to keep the place running. I actually, literally moved back from Toronto to Oshawa, which did not do my career any good but we kept the hall going for eight more years.

Interviewer: What do you find helpful about the community,  or enjoyable?

Steve: Well everything about the culture is totally enjoyable. I am a history nut and a politically inquisitive person so I'm actively involved in the organizations. The Holodomor was a passion project of mine that I've been involved with since 2008 with Ucrainica***. I’m now involved with the new book that they’re just publishing so I'll be doing distribution for that. I'm the head of the Dnipro Oshawa Fund. When we sold our domivka (community building) we put the money into trust at the BCU Foundation and I’m the chair of the committee that makes donations to Ukrainian projects that we find of value. So we donated to Camp Veselka, to CUF, Canada Ukraine Foundation on the medical missions. We sponsored the latest project for PTSD.

Interviewer: How was it that your mother learned Ukrainian?

Steve: Dido and Baba (granddad and grandma) both were alive when my parents were married. They spoke very little English and mom just totally immersed herself into the community. My mother acted as a teachers’ aide in sadochok (kindergarten), went through Ukrainska shkola (Ukrainian school) and actually graduated her Matura  (graduation certificate) at Jurij Lypa****. She was the oldest student in her graduating class.

My mother was known as Pani (Mrs.) Ivanka. My mom’s name was Janet. They either called her Pani Doctorova or Pani Ivanka. My mom was very actively involved with SUM (Ukrainian youth organization)….And was for a time the head of Zhinocha Liga (Women’s League) out of Oshawa….involved with The National Council of Women and brought the Ukrainian organizations [into the Council] in the 60’s.

* Fifth wave
** Where are our children?
*** Ucrainica Research Institute, based in Toronto
**** School for Ukrainian High School classes in Oshawa