Sheffield woman taking in five Ukrainian child refugees urgently needs clothes, toys and furniture

A Sheffield woman who is preparing to take in five child refugees and a mother fleeing war-torn Ukraine has issued an urgent plea for help.
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Masha Golovay, who lives in Grenoside, is appealing for people and businesses to donate clothes, toys and furniture to make the family members she and her partner are welcoming feel as comfortable as possible.

Masha, who is a community nurse, grew up in Ukraine before coming to Sheffield around 13 years ago, and is now a British citizen, but her twin brother still lives in their native country with his wife and children.

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She hopes to take in two of her brother’s children, along with her cousin and her cousin’s three children.

Masha Golovay, who lives in Grenoside, Sheffield, with her niece Agnes, aged seven, and nephew Oleksiy, 17, in Ukraine this week. She hopes to bring them and four other relatives to safety in the UKMasha Golovay, who lives in Grenoside, Sheffield, with her niece Agnes, aged seven, and nephew Oleksiy, 17, in Ukraine this week. She hopes to bring them and four other relatives to safety in the UK
Masha Golovay, who lives in Grenoside, Sheffield, with her niece Agnes, aged seven, and nephew Oleksiy, 17, in Ukraine this week. She hopes to bring them and four other relatives to safety in the UK
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Her older nephews, aged 19 and 22, are staying behind to fight if necessary, as all men aged 18-60 have been ordered to do, along with their father and their mother, who wants to remain for now to continue helping other families fleeing the violence.

The two boys and three girls coming to Sheffield are aged between four and 17, and Masha and her partner, who have no children of their own, desperately need donations to ensure the youngsters have everything they need when they arrive.

Masha's friend Emily Radford has launched the appeal for donations on behalf of Masha, who is in western Ukraine at the moment trying to arrange visas for her relatives.

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Emily said: “She desperately needs things to make their rooms feel more like their own space, rather than just four bare walls and a mattress on the floor."

She said the response so far has been fantastic but Masha and her partner still need more items, including bunk beds; bedding; toys for the children, especially the oder ones; a larger dining table and chairs; bedside tables; a wardrobe and chest of drawers; and car booster seats. They are unable to collect items so are asking people to deliver any donations to Masha’s home.

The children do not speak English so they do not need any books unless somebody has children’s books in Ukrainian.

Emily said all six relatives Masha hopes to bring to Sheffield are due to have their visa application considered next Wednesday, March 23, and it could take up to a week after that before they are granted permission to come to the UK.

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The UK Government has come under fire from other European nations for failing to do enough to help Ukrainian refugees, and Emily said Masha had found the confusion around the visa application process ‘awful’.

She said: “Masha’s had many sleepless nights and faced such confusion because I can’t tell you how many times the process has changed.

"As anyone who’s following the news knows, the bombs are getting further west, and all this time you’re waiting you’re faced with the choice of whether to stay in the relative safety of western Ukraine or go to the relative unknown of Poland, knowing at some point it could be too late to leave.”

Anyone who is able to donate has been asked to email [email protected] describing what they are able to offer.