08/19/2026
The L’Arche Daybreak community recently gathered to celebrate and bless our dear friend ZENIA KUSHPETA as she prepares to return to her beloved Ukraine.
Zenia first came to Daybreak in the 1980s as an Assistant at the New House and later was part of the founding team of Corner House when it opened its doors. Her years at Daybreak became part of a much larger calling. She went on to help bring Faith and Light and L’Arche to Ukraine, helping to create communities where people with and without disabilities could find friendship, belonging and hope.
After several years in Canada caring for an aging parent, Zenia is now returning to Ukraine — a country she has loved and served for so many years, and that has become profoundly changed since she was last there.
When Zenia first made Ukraine her home, she was helping to build new communities and imagine new possibilities. Today, she returns to a country living through the ongoing reality of war. And yet, the communities she helped plant have endured. L’Arche and Faith and Light continue to gather, support one another, welcome those displaced by the war, and hold onto the belief that community and compassion matter, especially in difficult times.
Our gathering was a chance to share stories, remember the many ways Zenia has shaped Daybreak and the lives of so many people, offer gifts, and surround her with love and prayer as she begins this next chapter.
Zenia, we send you with our gratitude, our blessing and our love. May you know that a part of your Daybreak family goes with you — across the miles and back to your other home.
May you travel safely. May you find strength and welcome. And may the communities you have helped to nurture continue to be a source of hope and light.
We will be holding you, and Ukraine, in our hearts. 💙💛
