Ukraine: Host families in Shrewsbury unite on social media

A family of four who fled Ukraine have been sponsored by two couples on neighbouring streets after they found each other on social media.

Nataliya Tretyakova and her 13-year-old son Taras fled Lviv in February when war broke out, also taking her mother and aunt with her.

The single mum found her UK sponsor via a Polish charity's Facebook group.

They said they had been overwhelmed with support since moving to Shrewsbury, Shropshire, in April.

The 37-year-old was in the middle of renovating her apartment and had just come back from a holiday in Egypt with her son "with no worries whatsoever" before seeing news reports of a possible threat of war.

"I started to get scared and there was a lot of tension in the air," said Nataliya.

"We started thinking about relocation because I don't want my son to experience a war. I knew if war would come that we would relocate."

As war broke out on 23 February, Nataliya headed to the railway station in Lviv, alongside her son, 63-year-old mother and aunt, 71, and left for Poland with no plan, other than to leave everything they knew behind.

The three single women and teenager stayed with three different host families over a month, which left them feeling unsettled and uncertain for their futures.

By chance, one evening Nataliya was on Facebook looking through a Polish charity's page which was helping match families with potential sponsors.

Claire Bickford and Alan Goddard, who live in Shrewsbury, had registered and shared a post - which she saw and sent a message to the couple.

"We bonded straight away and that's how it started. I listened to my inner voice," said Nataliya, who stopped her search immediately after speaking to the couple.

After a conversation, the couple in Castlefields realised they weren't able to house all four.

Not wanting to turn the family away, they turned to some neighbourhood Facebook groups to see if they could find another willing sponsor nearby.

Hannah Foord saw the post and within days was filling in visa applications for Nataliya's mother Helen and aunt Iren.

In only a matter of weeks, the two households were united, sitting down for meals together and with conversations getting lost in translation, which "all adds to the fun", said Mr Goddard.

"It's amazing how the boundaries go down and you realise you're all nervous. But after a few nervous chats and hugs - all boundaries have gone and we're living together and getting on. It's brought us all closer together."

Nataliya said of her hosts: "The way we've connected under the circumstances... we share accommodation, we talk, we spend a lot of time together.

"We have become like a family in a matter of days. I feel like I belong to this place."

For all the smiles though, Ms Foord said hosting could be hard, as they were reminded of the reality of why the family were here as soon as they put the TV on.

"When missiles hit their home town of Lviv, they don't get sad, they get teary eyed," she said. "They are hard women and that's the difficult part to see."

Only weeks into settling in at her sponsor's home, Nataliya is keen to become independent, get a job and master spoken English.

"In Ukraine I was an English teacher for the past five years. I taught English online to adults. I was very proud of my job."

The 37-year-old is also awaiting news of school placements for her son who has been out of lessons for more than two months, with only adults for company.

"He wants to meet young people, mingle and make friends - right now all he has is adults. I want him to connect and socialise with young people his age."

The three women fill their time volunteering at a newly set-up central hub in the Riverside shopping centre in Shrewsbury - a place for refugees of all nationalities "to have a safe space", said chief executive for the charity Shropshire Supports Refugees, Amanda Jones.

As well as it being a central point for people to make use of donated clothes, food and children's toys, the hope is for people to use the space to meet friends "feel welcomed, feel supported and have links to each other" - from Whatsapp groups for newly-arrived Ukrainians to offering therapies for those who have experienced trauma.

Speaking through Nataliya, Helen and Iryna said being in England had "exceeded their expectations and they want to do everything they can to get to know people and belong to the community and are looking forward to starting to learn English".

"I miss Ukraine," Nataliya said. "I'm homesick and I'd like to go back, but right now I'd like to stay.

"I like being in England. But if it is possible to live in two countries at the same time, I would."

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