[ad_1]
SINCE the first Russian attack on Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the war-torn country’s citizens have been fleeing for their lives – and UK families have opened their homes, and their hearts, to help them.
The Government announced the Homes For Ukraine scheme on March 14, and by January 31 this year 158,800 refugees had been welcomed into the country.
6
Mike Adamson, CEO of the British Red Cross, which organised many of the placements, said: “People who arrived in the UK from Ukraine had their lives turned upside down.
“But the warmth and compassion of the public has meant we’ve been able to provide a place of refuge.”
He also praised Sun readers for donating generously to our special Ukraine Appeal, adding: “Your generosity has helped our expert teams provide practical and emotional support to thousands of people coping with the trauma of the conflict.”
As the first anniversary of the war looms closer, and with no end in sight, Alison Maloney talks to three refugee families and their hosts about their experiences.
Our tot was set for 1st birthday as missiles hit
ICU nurse Jade Blackburn, 39, and husband Miles, 36, an HR consultant, from Leicestershire, are hosts to Sachin and Yulia Kumar and toddler son Arun.
Yulia, 32, and Sachin, 33, had returned to their home in Vinnytsia in west-central Ukraine from a trip to India on February 14 and were preparing for their son’s first birthday, on February 26, when Russia invaded.
6
Yulia says: “We heard the sirens all night and we decided it wasn’t safe to stay in our apartment with a one-year-old, because we couldn’t keep travelling to the shelters.
“We moved on to a relative’s house which had an underground bunker but then my husband’s work as a food delivery courier stopped and we decided to go to Poland.
“They put us in temporary accommodation and their first question was, ‘Where will you move on to?’
“As we both speak English, we decided the UK was best.”
Jade and Miles, who are parents to Fraser, five, and three-year-old Ainsley, heard about the Homes For Ukraine scheme and wanted to offer their spare room.
The families talked every day for a month while Jade sorted the visas and travel arrangements.
Yulia says they were welcomed with open arms when they arrived.
She adds: “The room was ready for us with toys for Arun, and the neighbours and relatives all wanted to help, dropping in welcome cards, donating nappies and baby clothes.”
We can get on top of each other but we make it work.
Host Jade Blackburn
The family quickly settled in, although Jade’s younger son Ainsley had some early reservations.
She says: “Ainsley found it the hardest because he was just two when they first came and he’d gone from being the youngest to the middle child.
“Being so young, he didn’t want to share his toys.”
Sachin found work in local warehouses, although that dried up after Christmas and he is now looking for other jobs.
Yulia, a doctor who was on maternity leave when they fled Ukraine, is hoping she will also be able to work once they arrange childcare.
She says: “I miss Ukraine every day and I worry about my mother who is still there, because every day you see missile strikes on average cities and no one knows which area will be next.
“But I am grateful to be living here. I also like your education system and the activities for infants, because in Ukraine there is nothing for babies and small children.”
Although the families are close, Yulia says she and Sachin are keen to rent their own accommodation.
‘We heard the sirens all night and we decided it wasn’t safe to stay.
Mum Yulia Kumar
Jade, who now runs a Facebook page to support Ukrainian families and their hosts, admits they can “get on top of each other and get in each other’s way, but we make it work”.
She adds: “When I started sponsoring, I realised that there was no real help out there so I set up a local support group.
“It’s massively changed my life, because I’ve realised how rewarding it is actually just being able to devote your time to helping others.
“A year on, there is still a huge need for hosts because Ukrainian families are still having to flee.
“So if there are people out there who have spare rooms and think they can help, I can assure them it’s a massively rewarding experience.”
My dad was a World War 2 evacuee – I had to help
KARYNA IVOLHA, 33, fled from her home in Mariupol at the start of the conflict, accompanied by her mother Polina, 51, and children Mylana, eight, and 18-month-old Makar.
They now live with toymaker Tony Trowsdale, 62, in his Derbyshire home.
6
6
Recently divorced Tony registered his interest in the Homes For Ukraine scheme when it launched and Karyna and her family arrived in September.
He says: “During World War Two my dad, who I lost in 2016, was evacuated from London to Cambridgeshire and he often spoke about how he was looked after.
“So I felt I had to help. I met Karyna and her children through a charity called LoveBristol.
“We chatted on WhatsApp and then I paid for their flights from Bremen in Poland. Having them here has been an amazing experience.
“They’ve made my house a home.”
Before the fighting reached their city, Karyna and husband Maxim, a policeman, had a “joyful, happy, normal life”.
It’s been amazing. They’ve made my house a home.
Host Tony Trowsdale
But Mariupol, in the Donetsk region, soon became one of the worst-hit cities and is now under Russian control
Karyna says: “The Ukrainian military fought back up till the last while it was a ground offensive.
“But then the air bombing started. The first bomb that hit the city was 300 tons and it devastated a huge area.”
Tony, who has three grown-up children and runs his own business making wooden toys, says the family’s arrival has enriched his life — and expanded his waistline.
He adds: “Polina is a baker by trade and they introduced me to traditional Ukrainian food.
“I love varenyky, which are half-moon-shaped dumplings, like ravioli. I joke that I was 10st when they moved in, now I’m 20st.”
‘They bring a spark’
Karyna, who is taking English lessons with her mum, says: “In the beginning I was uncomfortable but Tony made everything so much easier, telling us to relax and use Google Translate. Or we use gestures.
“In the evening we play games, like Connect 4, dominoes and snakes and ladders.”
Tony says the family have been overwhelmed by the welcome they have received from the local community, who also donated clothes and a cot.
And he takes Mylana to taekwondo and dance lessons every week, with both clubs have waiving their fees.
He also fought to get the youngster into a local school attended by twin Ukrainian boys so she would feel less isolated.
Polina, meanwhile, has landed a job in the local bakery, where she says they treat her as “one of the team”.
In the evening we play games like Connect 4.
Mum Karyna Ivolha
Tony calls having the kids at home a “dry run” for being a future grandad.
“They bring a spark to the house and I am blessed that they are here,” he says.
“It’ll be a great day for them when they can go back — but a sad day for me.”
Neighbours welcomed us with flags and balloons
YANA MONAKHOVA, 21, her brother Tymofi, nine, and mum Olha, 45, came to the UK last July and lived with Gill Woodall, 63, and husband Kevin, 67, in Meopham, Kent.
They have since moved on to a nearby rented flat.
6
Yana says her life before the conflict was idyllic.
She lived by the Black Sea in the sun-drenched south of Ukraine,
Her dad Pasha, a sound engineer, helped build cinemas in Ukraine and neighbouring countries, while Olha worked as a part-time furniture designer.
Yana, meanwhile, was studying English and French at university.
She says: “I had a very nice life. We had holidays at least once a year.
“When war broke out, we fled to a summer home with my grandparents, and all seven of us slept in one small room.”
They are not just friends, they are part of my family.
Host Gill Woodall
The family’s apartment was close to a military air base, and on the night of the first Russian attacks, they were woken at 5am by the sound of two missiles.
Yana says: “We had been told on the news that this could happen but we were living a normal life . . . we didn’t really expect it, so it was a shock. Tymofi was shaking.
“We knew we had to leave but we couldn’t go straight to the border because it was shut.”
Olha, who was booked in to have a hysterectomy on the day of the invasion, also needed medical attention.
In the UK, nurse Gill and Kevin, who owns a flooring business, were keen to offer the family the two spare bedrooms in their Kent bungalow.
A friend who had also taken in refugees put them in touch with dad Pasha, and a flight was booked from Poland.
We didn’t really expect the attack, so it was a shock.
Yana Monakhova, 21
Olha says: “As soon as we met them at the airport, Gill and Kevin wrapped us in warmth.
“When we arrived at the house, the neighbours had put out Ukrainian flags and balloons. It was unbelievable. It made us feel so welcome.”
Since October Gill and Kevin, who have three grown-up children and six grandchildren, have no longer been able to accommodate the family but found them a rental flat in the nearby village of Shorne.
The two families remain incredibly close though.
Gill says: “They are not just friends — they are part of my family.”
6
[ad_2]
Source link
