Southwell couple hosting Ukrainian family spurred into action by harrowing images of war

A couple hosting a Ukrainian family said they could not sit back and do nothing after seeing harrowing war footage on television.

Simon Hollingsworth and his partner, Catherine Wilson, of Southwell, welcomed Alina Koreniuk and her children Kristina, 12, and Olha, 8, into their home after the family escaped their hometown of Popasna.

Simon, who works as a freelance translator, and Catherine said they owed it to themselves to provide help, given they had all of the required resources.

“We couldn’t watch it (the bombings) on the telly and not do anything,” said Catherine.

“We have a home, we have safety, we have space and, of course, a way to communicate.

“When you hear the stories from Alina and you see her children, how can you not?”

Simon said the government’s Homes For Ukraine process was not a simple.

“We went on to the Home Office website to get started, but we instantly had a problem,” he said.

“Look, it is great that 200,000 Brits want to do this, but how do we find the Ukrainians who want to come over here?

“The joining of the dots was the first problem, and we have since discovered that Ukrainians are facing the same problems.

“Alina wanted to get out, and for her it wasn’t about coming to the UK, it was just that this was the first case with a tangible solution for her.

“I could fill in the forms, sort the visa letter application and the host of paperwork that had to be done.”

Simon said due to his connections, he was one of the first in the country to complete the process.

“We registered on the Friday and had all of our documentation in on the Sunday,” he said.

“We must have been one of the first families to give the forms in because you have to have it translated from Ukrainian to Russian, which you need somebody to do, and then we could translate the Russian to English.

“I have colleagues who can translate from Ukrainian to Russian, so we were well connected to get through all of the documentation and hoops.

“Ukrainians also had their own requirements for letting children out too, which involved getting documents from their father, Yurii, who is still in Ukraine.”

Simon said he had enjoyed the humbling experience.

Alina said her her daughters had explored Southwell, got creative with their colouring-in, and had also enrolled at local schools. She detailed her emotional journey out of Ukraine.

The most difficult part of the experience for Simon and Catherine had been finding raw beetroot for Alina’s favourite dish, beetroot soup.