“Please don’t give up on Ukraine” Community calls for support amid uncertain future

When Zhanna Pohodena put her three children in the car and sped away from their home in Ukraine she had no idea if or when they would return.

Along with her husband they made the 10-day journey to the UK with the few essentials they could carry.

As Russia first launched a full scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 the family fought hard not to be displaced, but Zhanna’s children were scared from hearing bomb alarms and having to sleep in shelters overnight.

‘One day, everything is lost’

Zhanna is still struggling to come to terms with what happened two years ago: “When you have a very nice life in your country, a very stable life, and your children are very happy, then one day, everything is lost... it’s very difficult.”

Zhanna and her family found a new home in Sheffield when they arrived in the UK.

They are one of around 45 Ukrainian families who attend a Saturday club at St Mary’s church in Bramall Lane, and five of the approximately 1,000 Ukrainian refugees in Sheffield.

The children, aged from four to 11, who attend the club were displaced from their education at a vital time with many unable to finish learning to read and write Ukrainian. Supplementary lessons are offered for free in reading, writing and culture as well as job and CV support for parents and wellbeing sessions like yoga or arts and crafts.

Zhanna says she first came to the Saturday club to connect with fellow Ukrainians and get support during what she describes as a very difficult adaptation period.

She says: “You need some help and you have many questions about how you can live here, which documents you need. We [also] learn English.”

‘My heart is in Ukraine’

Her children attend the school here every Saturday where they enjoy spending time with other Ukrainian children. This continuity is crucial because the family intend to return to Ukraine once war is over. Zhanna says: “My heart is in Ukraine, and it is home”.

As the war continues, it is unclear when Zhanna’s family will be able to return to their home country.

One of the teachers at the Saturday school is Anna Kovalenko, who came to the UK in August 2022. Unlike Zhanna, Anna came without her husband, moving to Sheffield from Bucha, near Kiev, with her two sons, aged seven and 12. It was the first time Anna had left Ukraine.

The family spent almost a year without him. “For everybody it was really hard. It was two boys growing up without their father. Because we are adults we knew why we were here, but for children it was really hard to explain.” says Anna.

Alongside lessons in Ukrainian so the children do not forget their mother tongue, adults, too, benefit from the club.

Anna says: “We have yoga here for ladies, we also have some workshops, and all big holidays we gather together.”

Just last week lots of people gathered at the club to celebrate the 210-year anniversary of the birth of Taras Shevchenko, a famous Ukrainian poet.

The club has clearly been successful in helping people integrate into life in the UK. Anna says many of the adults have jobs on Saturdays so no longer attend the club, or do not need the level of support they received when first arriving in the UK.

Like Zhanna and many others at the club, Anna says her family are committed on returning to Ukraine. Her 14-year-old son, Lev, helps out at the club and has been enjoying school in Sheffield, but wants very much to return to Ukraine.

Families facing huge uncertainty

Anna, however, is concerned he will join the fighting if they return before war is over. She wants him to complete sixth form in the UK and continue with the excellent support he has received here.

She hopes the family will have returned to Ukraine by the time Lev is applying for university but accepts there is no certainty of this.

Tanya Klymenko is one of the organisers of the Saturday club through her role as treasurer of the Sheffield branch of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB), the largest representative body for Ukrainians in the UK.

Unlike Zhanna and Anna, Tanya did not come to the UK as a refugee but has lived here for 22 years and works as a lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University.

While many families want to return to Ukraine, there is a much greater level of uncertainty for others.

Tanya says: “For people who came here from occupied territories, or places like Mariupol, where they basically don’t have anywhere to go

back to… it’s unrealistic to think about going back to Ukraine or building long term plans.

“It’s probably a coping strategy where they try not to think too much about going back to Ukraine.”

Tanya says for others, particularly women with young children whose husbands are still in Ukraine, they are counting the days until they can pack and go back.

Jude Boyles, Sheffield therapeutic services manager at the Refugee Council, who spoke to The Mirror, said: “The Ukrainian refugees we work with often talk of the painful impact of the conflict on their families here and in Ukraine, with the continued loss of life and the devastation of war.

“The two-year anniversary will be a difficult time as families remain separated and those living in the UK struggle to work towards a more certain future for their children.”

With few signs of peace in Ukraine soon, Tanya says the association is lucky to have financial backing from Sheffield City Council, the Diocese of Sheffield, and the University of Sheffield. But she says the smallest and most precious stream of private donations has dwindled slightly.

“The war in Europe is still raging. Ukraine needs your support. The support is needed as badly now as it was two years ago. Please don’t give up on Ukraine,” she says.