Two cars refurbished by Torque Masters Car Club have gone to Ukrainians who fled the war and are now living at a safe haven in East Sooke while they rebuild their lives in Canada
The Torque Masters Car Club based in Sidney is best known for its members’ hot rods, rat rods and other custom cars.
“It started off as a fundraiser, with the club matching individual donations of up to $1,500 to purchase one car — then we got another.” When informed that vehicles had been donated, the group of refugees voted among themselves to determine who would get them.The second, a 2006 Ford 500 sedan with 58,000 kilometres, went to Vitaliia Atamaniuk, a surgeon, so she could attend classes at the Lansdowne campus of Camosun College.
When Atamaniuk and the children fled, her husband, who is also a surgeon, stayed behind. “His skills are much needed in the country now,” she said. Holowaychuk, whose Ukrainian grandparents fled Russian persecution and settled in Canada about 120 years ago, called getting a vehicle “a big leg up” for the Ukrainians. “It is a tremendous help.”He recounts how a 16-year-old Ukrainian got a job at a restaurant. When she got her paycheque, she kept only a third of her wages, splitting the other two-thirds between her grandmother, who is still in Ukraine, and the country’s army.
So far, they have turned down seven cars for every one they accept, however. They want to make sure the vehicles are in good condition and reliable before handing them over.
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