Like us, Citizens UK believe that small ripples of community and solidarity can create waves of positive change. It’s one of the many reasons they’re one of our partners, and why, together, we’re calling for action. We want 50 Greenbelt households to take the plunge and sign up to become hosts for those fleeing the ongoing war in Ukraine. That’s 50 new hosts for our 50th year.
Greenbelter, Heidi, describes life as a ‘Communities for Ukraine’ Host:
“Being able to host Tetiana and Milan (six years old) since last July has been a privilege and a joy. To see them visibly relax and thrive in a welcoming community as part of our family is truly heart-warming, and I’m so glad we made the decision to host, through the ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme. We’ve been well supported by colleagues at Citizens UK and learnt a lot about ourselves, as well as the needs of displaced people, especially children fleeing war.
Greenbelt has always been a space where I’ve been able to think about what really matters and how practically to challenge injustice and put my faith and humanity into action. I’d encourage anyone to consider whether they could step up and offer hospitality and welcome. Tetiana described the sponsorship programme as being like a Guardian Angel, an apt description for Greenbelters! Could you be one?”
Tetiana and Milan
How has the experience been for Tetiana and her son, Milan?
“If you ask me what Britain and the sponsorship programme mean to me, I will answer that it is a SECOND LIFE!
I dread to think what could have happened to me and my son if the UK had not extended a helping hand to us.
No one has the right to take a life from a person, as Russia and Ukraine are doing now. Russia is destroying our people, regardless of who is standing in front of them – be it a woman, a child or an old man.
Being in the hotspot of your city of Kharkov, you understand how valuable life is and how much everything that was important yesterday has depreciated. I had to endure a lot of stress, fear and travel, in search of a safer place. But as it turned out, any point in Ukraine was under attack.
The feeling of security appeared only when we got to the UK.
Here we met with other difficulties (language, adaptation, mentality) but this is not comparable to the fact that we are finally safe.
A BIG help is given to us by our sponsoring family. This is a period of adaptation. Opportunity and time to survive the stress of war and get on your feet for an independent life.
This can be compared to support for a small child who is not yet able to walk, talk, orient himself in space and independently work and earn a living. This year we have become stronger and more stable. I promise we will soon become independent and will gratefully remember our new British family. We will definitely visit as children visit their parents. We are grateful to all the people and the UK government for this chance at life.
Great Britain is a NEW LIFE for us. The sponsorship programme is a guardian angel and support! Thank you for being with us!!!”
Can you be one of the ‘50 for 50’ – 50 new hosts for Greenbelt’s 50th year?
A message from Citizens UK
We’re thrilled to be working with Greenbelt to recruit new hosts for the many thousands still fleeing the war in Ukraine, including many children just like Milan.
Maybe you’ve considered hosting in the past year; maybe you can consider hosting now. We’d love you to take part in a dedicated webinar for Greenbelters who might be open to becoming hosts to those fleeing the ongoing war in Ukraine. There’ll be insight from current hosts, and we will describe how the ‘Communities for Ukraine’ programme works in detail, our relational matching process, our safeguarding support and additional resources and training for hosts and guests to support everyone involved. We look forward to seeing you there!
Webinar Date: Thu 29 June, 7:30-9pm
Register here or find out more