Travel & Subsistence for a family from Ukraine to the UK.
by Hannah Lovegrove in Chard, Dorset, United Kingdom
Once we've covered the cost of flights and accommodation, we'd like to put anything extra towards the cost of re-building a life, access to those things that the individuals feel they need in order to fully express themselves, that perhaps remind them of home, give them a sense of autonomy. We can't predict what those things are but the family have come away with nothing and your support will mean the world to them.
We are supporting a Ukrainian family of two adults and two children to come and live in our AirBnB in Dorset. Originally from Sumy in the east of Ukraine, they have spent the past four weeks sheltering with two other families in a house in Chernovograd, north of Lviv near the Polish border while we waited for the visas to come through. With the help of our MP Chris Loder and his team, the last of the documents finally arrived on Friday 22nd April.
The family now need to move across the border to Warsaw to complete the journey to the UK. We've found an intrepid English lady called Harriet driving a minibus who can take them from Lviv to Warsaw on 26th BUT she can only take them if someone is meeting them or they have a hotel booked. There's another lady called Kate organising coach journeys from Warsaw to Kent but these are hugely oversubscribed. (We're on the waiting list.) Ideally, the family needs a hotel room for the night and flights from Warsaw to Luton, where we can collect them.
The family is a mum and dad, girl 14 and boy 10. The girl loves to read and her English is really excellent. The boy loves football. Mum is an accountant and Dad was pensioned out of his role as an engineer with a heart condition. They have just one 20kg suitcase between them.
The Studio is fully equipped but they will have the bare minimum of personal items. We'd be grateful for any donations towards the cost of travel, and the purchase of essential items for them. If you're local, we'd appreciate any food that we can put into their big freezer, tinned and dried foods for storage. Summer clothes, books, toys, items for school, a little luxury or two would all be very welcome, I'm sure.
There are various financial support mechanisms from local councils and we're working closely with them. I know from experience these will take time to put in place. They will cover some day to day basics but they won't cover the cost of putting a family life back together. Any help would be much appreciated.
Thank you!
Дякую!
Dyakuyu!