NIKA

Svitlana Ivanchenko came to Edmonton from Ukraine in 2005. 

“I was looking for a good life,” she says. “Ukraine is not exactly a country for a good life. And so I left looking for a better place to live.”

Svitlana played lots of sports in Ukraine, and she saw the benefits of sport as a young person. “It did teach me a lot of good things that I could use in the future,” she says.

However, opportunities to play closed off as sports programs began operating on a for-profit basis. Now in Canada, Nika jumped at the chance to sign her daughter Nika, a fourth grader at St. Francis of Assisi, up for Free Play for kids when her school let them know about the program.

Svitlana has been thrilled to see how Free Play has benefitted her family.

“When she started going to Free Play I could see her changes. Months later I started noticing she became more calm and thinks things through, which has helped our relationship... Those little things start adding up.” 

“I think this program should be open to as many people as possible. It helps lay the foundation and put them on the right path. 

Read more about Free to Play HERE: https://freeplayforkids.com/free-to-play 

Written by Stefan Salegio