When Yana Pysarenko and her husband returned to Oviedo, a city in northern Spain, in late 2025, they thought they might be leaving Edmonton for good. Better business opportunities awaited them in Europe, and after several challenging years rebuilding their lives, the move seemed to make sense.

Then their younger son asked a simple question.

"Mom, where's synagogue here?"

For Yana, the question brought clarity to a decision she and her husband had been struggling to make.

"On one side, me and my husband and our future. Another side, childhood for my kids," she says. "To have a chance to grow up in a Jewish environment, to keep the traditions."

Within a month, the family decided to return to Canada. Their children's opportunity to grow up connected to Jewish life became the deciding factor.

Today, their two sons attend Talmud Torah School, where they are surrounded by Jewish learning, friendships, traditions, and community. As the family continues building a new life in Edmonton, support from the Jewish Federation of Edmonton's Integrated Bursary Program has helped make Jewish education accessible during a period of financial uncertainty.

Originally from Ukraine, Yana and her husband owned a successful manufacturing business before relocating to Spain in 2021. Shortly after their move, the war in Ukraine disrupted their business and eliminated their primary source of income. When Canada opened emergency travel visas for Ukrainians, the family applied and chose Edmonton as the place where they would start over.

Rebuilding has not been easy. Both Yana and her husband have worked to establish new careers while navigating immigration challenges and financial pressures. Through every setback, their focus has remained on creating opportunities for their children.

"I want them to have a nice childhood," Yana says. "And I don't have a second chance to re-record it for them."

As the family settled into life in Edmonton, another pivotal moment shaped their future. The events of October 7 prompted Yana and her husband to reflect more deeply on their Jewish identity and the traditions they wanted to pass on.

"When it happened, we decided it's time to bring back our identity," Yana says. "We want the next generation, especially my kids, to grow up in a strong Jewish tradition."

That commitment became even stronger when the family returned briefly to Oviedo. The Jewish school they had once hoped their children would attend was no longer operating locally, and the Jewish community they remembered had changed significantly. The experience reinforced what mattered most to them: raising their children in a place where Jewish life was active, visible, and accessible.

For Yana's sons, Talmud Torah has become much more than a school.

They celebrate Jewish holidays, learn Hebrew, build friendships, and experience Jewish traditions both in the classroom and at home. Yana says that connection helps her children feel a strong sense of belonging.

"You feel like you're normal," she says. "There are no differences outside in the world and inside your home."

The school has been especially meaningful for her older son, who attended schools in Ukraine, Spain, and Canada before arriving at Talmud Torah.

"Talmud Torah was the first school that my older son didn't have a bully," Yana says.

While the family found the Jewish community they were searching for in Edmonton, accessing Jewish education remained a challenge as they continued rebuilding their lives.

Yana learned about Jewish Federation of Edmonton's Integrated Bursary Program when first enrolling her children at Talmud Torah. Funded through donations to the United Jewish Appeal Campaign, the program helps families access Jewish experiences and opportunities that might otherwise be out of reach.

For Yana, the impact goes far beyond financial assistance.

"Just because of that help that they provide for us, my kids can have this future to grow up and be raised Jewish," she says.

She hopes donors understand the difference their support makes for families like hers.

"This is absolutely incredible," Yana says. "It's a positive impact for Jewish families who are newcomers here, to keep traditions and keep the right education for kids."

Through gifts to the United Jewish Appeal Campaign, donors help families access Jewish education, strengthen their connection to community, and create opportunities for the next generation.

For Yana, that support has helped remove a financial barrier while her family rebuilds. For her children, it has helped create a Jewish childhood filled with learning, friendship, tradition, and belonging.