East Renfrewshire church welcomes Ukrainians and their host families
Published on 12 August 2022
An East Renfrewshire church is hosting a unique welcome hub to support people fleeing the Russian-Ukrainian war and their new host families.
Around 50 people attend Park Parish Church in Giffnock every Saturday to make new connections and share their experiences as they settle into their new communities.
Volunteers provide face-to-face English lessons to people who don't speak the language to help them find jobs and rebuild their lives.
The project provides an opportunity for hosts – ordinary people who have opened their homes under the Homes for Ukraine scheme – to get to know each other and share ideas and advice.
Rev Calum Macdonald, minister of Park Parish Church, said welcoming the stranger is at the heart of the Christian message and the Church has always been a place of sanctuary for people in times of stress and struggle.
"We're delighted to offer the halls as a meeting place to give people who have been through so much the opportunity to come together and make new connections as they seek to rebuild their lives," he added.
"It is important that host families have the opportunity to compare notes and offer support and assistance where it is required."
Known as Ukrainian Hub Giffnock, the project is spearheaded by Oksana Mavrodii, a professional musician who is originally from Ukraine and has been living in Scotland for 17-years.
The 43-year-old said: "Ukrainians started to arrive in Glasgow in April and I immediately recognised the issues and the problems that they were facing and I thought it would be awful if they had to go through that by themselves so I asked our minister for help.
"It is so important that hosts are involved because this is a new learning experience for these brave people.
"By meeting and chatting to each other they manage to solve lots of problems faster than they would have done otherwise and that is absolutely great.
"This project brings Ukrainians and people in Scotland together - we eat together, we sing together, we laugh together and try to bring back the normality of life for those who have suffered so much."
Ms Mavrodii is the musical director of the Eastwood Choir which meets in the church and recently organised two charity concerts and raised around £5,000 in aid of people affected by the war.
She said many of the Ukrainians who use the hub are traumatised by the horrors of what they have witnessed.
Ms Mavrodii said: "It has left a massive impact on people, it will be always with them and the only thing they can do is learn to live with it."
"Many of them will find it difficult to access mental health services because they do not speak good English so my hope is the group will provide a type of therapy as they talk and share their experiences."
'We feel very safe'
Eugene Didenko, 31, and his partner Yulia, 27, fled their home in Mariupol after the Russian military bombed the city and later occupied it.
The couple arrived in Scotland in May and moved in with Dr Colin Sykes and his wife Anne who live in Eaglesham.
Mr Didenko said he was found it very difficult to talk about what he experienced after the war broke out and what he went through to get to Scotland.
"I really like Scotland and the people are generally nice, kind and very warm," he added.
"Living with such kind, good people makes us feel very safe.
"We come to the church nearly every Saturday and it's a really good place to communicate with people and fellow Ukrainians."
Mr Didenko recently secured a job as a machine operator in East Kilbride and his partner is studying to improve her English.
Asked what their long-term plans are, Mr Didenko said: "For now, we are planning to stay here because Mariupol has almost been completely destroyed and is now occupied by Russian troops.
"We feel homesick quite often and want to return to Ukraine even though we no longer have a home."
Hospitality
Dr Sykes, a retired hospital doctor and his wife, a former operating theatre nurse, said they have space in their house and were determined to do what they could to help people fleeing the war.
"People kept saying that the situation in Ukraine was so hopeless and we can't do a thing about it but we thought there is one thing we can do," explained Dr Sykes.
"So we applied and quite quickly afterwards we were matched with Eugene and Yulia and they wrote back to us and told us what their position was.
"They'd managed to escape from Mariupol with a lot of difficulty and they had travelled through Russia into Georgia but they felt Georgia wasn't safe and would we be prepared to take them on."
Mrs Sykes said the couple were very easy to live with and everyone got on well.
"I have learned a lot about Ukraine and the wider situation in Europe," she added.
"I cook, they cook and we try each other's food which is all part of living together and we all rub along – it is good.
"This welcome hub has been really great for them and the hosts.
"It is essential really as we often end up in the kitchen chatting, supporting each other and hearing other people's stories and experiences."
Clare Williams, session clerk at Sherbrooke Mosspark Parish Church in Glasgow, is hosting Yuliia and her 12-year-old son Artem who are originally from Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.
Asked why they decided to take part in the scheme, the elder said: "We were overwhelmed by the footage we saw on the TV and all the articles in the press.
"We were lucky enough to have a very good old friend who lives in Cambridge whose daughter-in-law is Ukrainian and she introduced Yuliia who is one of her old school friends.
"Yuliia was living in Kyiv with her son when the war started in February.
"She was lucky enough to be able to go and live with her parents who live about 100km away so she felt it was safer there but was looking to start a new life.
"What happened to them was terrible but they both now feel safe and happy and are making friends which is lovely."
Financial aid
Mrs Williams said helping their guests in their "hour of need" was an opportunity for her and her husband, Nigel, to put their Christian faith into action.
Yuliia, who worked as a nursery teacher in Ukraine, is now learning English so she can get a job and her son is keen to start school.
The Church has a long history of receiving and supporting refugees and leads the multifaith partnership, Scottish Faiths Action for Refugees.