The United Kingdom’s sponsor a Ukrainian scheme is now in full flow and here’s what it’s really like for a Ukrainian receiving help and Brits trying to help.
Under the scheme, which launched on March 14, people are asked to offer Ukrainians a rent-free space in their home or a separate residence for at least six months.
I recently had the opportunity to speak to Ukrainian citizen Natalia Inshyna about what the scheme means to her and how it has worked so far. I was also able to speak to British citizen Lisa Perkins about her view as someone who is currently trying to sponsor Natalia under the new scheme.
Natalia Inshyna’s Perspective
How do you feel about the UK sponsorship scheme?
Honestly, I was truly amazed at the scale of this programme and the astonishingly fast reaction of your government. Second, I was amazed at the number of the UK citizens who decided to open their doors and hearts to us. That’s incredible and really touching. So far, I haven’t heard about any other country willing to host so many people and giving them the rights and benefits the citizens of the UK enjoy.
How do you feel about leaving Ukraine?
I feel torn. My usual life was disrupted, as everyone else’s in our homeland. Although my home town is a dangerous place to live in now, all my life is there. Our small but cosy house, our pets, our kitchen garden, picturesque nature, friends and other people I’ve known all my life. I terribly miss all those. At the same time, I have nowhere else to live here, I am about to lose my job, doing the same work for the payment that can hardly support my and my mum’s basic needs. My life goes on, and I have to continue to make a living and take care of myself and my mother. What gives me hope and makes me grateful right now is a chance to get back to a normal life given by Lisa and your country. I’m sure lots of people from Ukraine truly appreciate what the British have been doing all this time for us.
What made you choose the UK?
After two months of our struggle passed, I started to realise that the whole situation in Ukraine may not improve very soon. No one can predict how long the war will last here. And I also realized that it will take even longer to regain the stability we had before the war. All that dawned on me all of a sudden and was a bitter pill to swallow. So, I started looking for a country where I could find a temporary shelter and find a job to be more or less financially independent. I first looked for some shelters in the neighbouring countries like Poland, Hungary, Romania and the Chez Republic, but they were already packed with our refugees. I then heard on TV that the British government launched Home for Ukraine. I googled more details about it and decided to try and find a sponsor.
How has your journey so far been?
If you mean my journey as an internally displaced person – it’s been quite a challenge. The war caught me in Kyiv, very close to the suburbs (Bucha, Irpin and Hostomel) where the unimaginably horrible things were happening. I stayed in Kyiv for two weeks listening to the never-ending air raid alerts and explosions and thinking about how many more days I would be able to stay in the city and when my area will be reached by the russian invaders. I desparately wanted to go home in Sumy region, but it had been already occupied and bombarded by the russians. My mum was there, and I was horrified at the perspective of her being killed during the missile attacks and bombardments. I was trying to talk her into leaving the place, but she refused to go anywhere else. Deep down I understood her perfectly well – she didn’t want to leave our house and pets.
So, I left Kyiv and headed westwards. All the trains (including the one by which I travelled) were packed with families and their pets. You could spend a day at the railway station and not get on an evacuation train. I was lucky to get into the locomotive part of the train and thus reached Lviv. There I found a temporary shelter in a hostel for internally displaced persons. Soon after that, my mum arrived with our pets and we went to a village where my friend’s parents live. They are very kind and generous people hosting two families now. We’ve been staying at their place for one month already, hoping that all this horror will subside one day.
How did you achieve your sponsorship match?
I found a Facebook group which helps Ukrainians find sponsors in the UK. Once I posted my request, Lisa was the first person to get in touch with me and offer help. She is a lovely person, very helpful and proactive. What’s more, we both like cats and dogs, which is awesome.
Lisa Perkins perspective
What made to host a Ukrainian?
My Husband used to live in Germany and he was there when the Berlin wall came down so he understands what it can be like. We have a spare room as our daughter only comes over a few times a year and we Wanted to help so thought to use the spare room.
How has the process been for you?
Register your interest on the government website and you get an automated email thanking you for your interest. You then have to wait two to three weeks for the council to match you. What most people are doing is going on Facebook and finding Ukrainian’s who want to leave the country and sponsoring them. You can reply to as many as you want with pictures and information. Then have chats over Facebook and video calls as you would not want someone in your house who you do not get on with. I Spoke to a few people for long conversations over Facebook.
There are men out there as not all of the men have to fight if they have three children or where not in Ukraine at the time, disabled or have a mother or father they look after. The best group I found is sisters which is where I got my matches from as it is a group where women or couples can be matched with women.
I feel that I have not been dealt with by the council properly. I emailed to ask how they can help but Natalia had already met a sponsor. 90% of people have already found a sponsor. It is a shame as lots of them do not speak English. There is group near me in Staffordshire who have been taking out supplies in Poland, who have stated there is a sports hall with desks offering support but there is not an English one. Not all refugees are literate so they are not all able to go onto Facebook. Government needs to have a link to find these people sponsors.
The Other issue is how to get them to the UK as train stations have been hit. I wanted to ask if anyone lives in London. There is only one airline doing free flights so Natalia would have to pay. If she goes on the train, they are free. How would Natalia get from the London to Birmingham.
Extra Finances
Financially it is not free to do this, you get a £350 rebate but it costs you more than that to do it all. We were told that we are not expected to buy anything for Natalia when she might not come with a lot. Asked when Natalia will get her £200, she is entitled to but she could not provide the information. Less than 5% of the people who have applied have made it into the UK. Unfortunately, on the March 18 and 19 the system crashed and they lost thousands of applications.
I Wanted to make sure it was someone who wanted to return home. Someone who wants to help. If I do not phone Natalia, she asks the next day where I was and if I am ok. She sent me photographs. I ask her how her mother and cats are. I Feels like she is now my friend. Her mother won’t come with her. Natalia’s Mum tried to book a land taxi to take her home and she went mad.
Getting Natalia to the UK
Natalia is still in Ukraine at the moment but I hope that I will be able to have her over to the UK soon. Her visa has been in for three weeks now. Where she is at the moment belongs to one of her students mothers. Her mother gets £70 a week in pension and due to her mother being unwell she needs to work. Where she is staying at the moment there is four rooms and four families.
I want to talk about this because it will help other people with the situation. They will know what they are getting themselves in for. The council told me I need an electric certificate and window locks; I checked the guidance and I do not need it If you have not done your research first you would be unable to question it.
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