Foyle Friends of Ukraine helping Derry host refugees

Three Ukrainian refugees, who moved to Derry fleeing the war, are now working with a new initiative to make it easier for local residents to take part in the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.
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Dr Dina Diurba, who was a lecturer in Ukraine, Dr Marina Sukhorukova, a surgeon and Tania Norynchak matched with Derry hosts Aaron Donnaghy, CEO of Hypixel Studios, Susan Thomas, from The COUP, a Donemana-based women’s nonprofit and another Derry family.

Susan and Aaron signed up for the Homes for Ukraine Scheme but were found the process of hosting a refugee very difficult and complicated. They met through chance and together, they were able to successfully complete the process. They then worked to set up Foyle Friends for Ukraine to use their experience to help other people who would like to provide support to a refugee. They have also been able to provide jobs for Dina, Marina and Tania, who lost their jobs because of the war.

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Susan explained: “I spent nine weeks trying to meet people in Ukraine after signing up for the Homes for Ukraine scheme and I was left in a bit of a no-mans-land. I was phoning and emailing and I got nowhere until a friend of a friend here in Derry said that her friend Aaron was also trying to host. We got in contact and our skills dovetailed. Aaron would be very digitally competent so could do background checks and what not and I was able to create a staging post for Dina and Marina to come here as they awaited visas.

Dr Dina Diurba, Susan Thomas,  Dr Marina Sukhorukova and Tania Norynchak. Dina, Marina and Tania are Ukrainian refugees who are working with Foyle Friends of Ukraine to help match Ukrainian refugees with people in Derry. Susan is hosting Tania and her family and is also working with the organisation. Photo: George Sweeney.  DER2220GS – 027Dr Dina Diurba, Susan Thomas,  Dr Marina Sukhorukova and Tania Norynchak. Dina, Marina and Tania are Ukrainian refugees who are working with Foyle Friends of Ukraine to help match Ukrainian refugees with people in Derry. Susan is hosting Tania and her family and is also working with the organisation. Photo: George Sweeney.  DER2220GS – 027
Dr Dina Diurba, Susan Thomas, Dr Marina Sukhorukova and Tania Norynchak. Dina, Marina and Tania are Ukrainian refugees who are working with Foyle Friends of Ukraine to help match Ukrainian refugees with people in Derry. Susan is hosting Tania and her family and is also working with the organisation. Photo: George Sweeney. DER2220GS – 027

“Our various experiences worked very well together and it stuck us that we were able to work it out but that not many others would be able to do the matching process. So we then decided to help more people fulfil their dream of helping this way.

“It has been a great experience in a very fundamental way. We have achieved what we set out to do. When you’re in a calm centre and you see what’s going on in the world, you’re compelled to help. We’ve done what we can and we would like to encourage and help other people to be in the same place. It just feels like the right thing to do.”

Susan is hosting Tania along with her two sons, who are aged eight and 13 months, and her 64 year old mother.

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She said: “What’s very notable is that we have invited really motivated people into our lives. There’s no handholding, just a bit of guidance or translating what the person needs. I think that’s what we would like to help others with, to reassure and help people see that it is possible and that this is a nifty way to do it. That’s the essence of moving forward with this initiative, so that there isn’t a no-mans-land for anyone, we will show them how it happens. It’s nothing short of a miracle and it feels amazing.”

Ukrainian refugees Dr Marina Sukhorukova and Dr Dina Diurba who are now working with Foyle Friends of Ukraine to help match more Ukranian refugees with people in Derry. Photo: George Sweeney.  DER2220GS – 028Ukrainian refugees Dr Marina Sukhorukova and Dr Dina Diurba who are now working with Foyle Friends of Ukraine to help match more Ukranian refugees with people in Derry. Photo: George Sweeney.  DER2220GS – 028
Ukrainian refugees Dr Marina Sukhorukova and Dr Dina Diurba who are now working with Foyle Friends of Ukraine to help match more Ukranian refugees with people in Derry. Photo: George Sweeney. DER2220GS – 028

Dina has been settling in to life in Derry and she is so grateful that she can work with Foyle Friends of Ukraine, not only to provide for herself, but to also help other refugees escape the conflict.

She said: “I like it here because it is a safe place. I have a job now and I can live like a normal person, not like a refugee. I still have a home in Ukraine but I don’t know what will happen there. My family is in the Kharkiv region and it isn’t a safe place there. They don’t want to leave, which makes me sad. I worry about them and I call my parents every day for a chat. They tell me that everything is alright but I know the truth. I read the news and I know that it isn’t alright. If a rocket falls in the nearest village things will not be alright.

“It would be very difficult for my family to come here because they don’t know English. They are older people and it would be a big stress on them to travel. My home is in kharkiv, East of Ukraine and if they were to move here, they would have to somehow travel to East Ukraine, then to Poland where they would have to get their passports and documents sorted and then make it to here. The journey is too long and difficult for them.

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“We have two lives now. One in the day when we are happy and meeting new people and the second in the evening when we call home and see the news that they are bombing our home. We call our friends every day to make sure they are alive. Every day. I am happy because I am alive and when I’m alive, I can help.

Ukrainian refugees Dr Marina Sukhorukova, Tania Norynchak and Dr Dina Diurba who are now working with Foyle Friends of Ukraine to help match more Ukranian refugees with people in Derry.. Photo: George Sweeney.  DER2220GS – 030Ukrainian refugees Dr Marina Sukhorukova, Tania Norynchak and Dr Dina Diurba who are now working with Foyle Friends of Ukraine to help match more Ukranian refugees with people in Derry.. Photo: George Sweeney.  DER2220GS – 030
Ukrainian refugees Dr Marina Sukhorukova, Tania Norynchak and Dr Dina Diurba who are now working with Foyle Friends of Ukraine to help match more Ukranian refugees with people in Derry.. Photo: George Sweeney. DER2220GS – 030

“Work with Foyle Friends of Ukraine is amazing for me. I love my job because I can improve my skills and we have a lovely team working here. The people in Derry are beautiful, amazing, kind people with huge hearts. That’s so important because they have opened not only their houses, but their hearts. We are feeling that so much here.

“We hope that we can find some families who really need help and a lot of people in Ukraine now have nothing. They don’t have houses or money. I think it will be difficult for them because these people are traumatised. We will do what we can and it’s nice to be able to help.”

Marina said: “I am from Kharkov and I am a General Surgeon who has been working for seven years. I lost my job when the war began so I couldn’t provide for myself at home. I had no money, so I couldn’t eat or get medicine or look after myself. I left my dad, my brother and his pregnant wife at home and they are in constant danger. They told me that somewhere near was hit by a bomb or a missile and people were killed. It’s hard to buy medicine at home and they have also lost their jobs so I have to provide for them here. I have friends and relatives in Kharkov that I’m able to help now because I’m here.

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“I like it here in Derry because people are very friendly and kind. They support us and now it’s very important for myself and Dina that we help people back home.

“I’m not sure if I want to go home. The situation at home is very difficult and it’s changing every day.

“The situation in Ukraine is much worse than people can imagine. Everything in the news is true and the truth is even worse in reality. Myself and Dina watched the situation and we didn’t sleep. The shops are empty. There’s no medication. We just sat in a shelter all the time. We didn’t have a normal life.

“When we thought about leaving and coming to Derry, we didn’t think about it being a better place, we only thought about survival.”

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Foyle Friends of Ukraine is intended to run for three months and is fully, privately funded for that period. Derry based video game developer Hypixel Studios is supporting the project with £10,000 of funding and office facilities, with an additional $20,000 provided by video game publisher Riot Games’ Social Impact Fund. Hypixel Studios CEO Aaron Donaghey has made a personal contribution of £10,000. It is also supported by the Coup and Children in Crossfire.

Aaron said: “Myself and Dina had a lot of back and forth in terms of swapping information and we found the process quite tricky. She’s a professor and I’m a CEO so I knew it would be very difficult for someone who’s not digitally native like we are. If someone doesn’t have English or is not tech literate, they would not be able to complete it. There was a very clear need a gap for help there. I researched who was doing what locally and we created Foyle Friends of Ukraine to bridge the gap and make the process accessible to everyone.

“A few issues we have come across already is people thinking that sponsoring someone will affect their benefits, which it doesn’t. If you’re in a council house and have a spare room, definitely, you can do this. Also, anyone coming over doesn’t affect Social Housing wait lists or things like that. These are spare rooms in people’s houses and where there’s a rare occasion where they are taking a full home, which I have only heard of once, that’s a private residence so is not taking a home from someone who is on a waiting list. Foyle Friends of Ukraine is also fully funded from the private sector so no public money is going into it. They are a few misconceptions I have come across so far so I think it’s important that people know that too.”

Local residents and businesses that are interested in providing housing or support to families from Ukraine are invited to register their interest online. The sign-up form can be found at www.FoyleFriendsOfUkraine.org or via the Foyle Friends of Ukraine Facebook page.

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In particular, Foyle Friends of Ukraine is looking to hear from people who have temporary housing available in Donegal. This is in order to support Ukrainians in urgent need while their UK visa applications are processed.

Susan concluded: “If you or anyone you know has a spare room or property and would like to assistance with the Homes for Ukraine program please get in touch. It doesn’t affect your benefits, hosting families are given £350 a month in lieu of rent and whilst there’s a request that it be for a 6-12 month duration, there’s opportunities to back out if things don’t work out. Please contact us via our whatsapp listed on www.foylefriendsofukraine.org or via [email protected]

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