Help buy the Piriatin family a mobile home

Dear family, friends, neighbours and well-wishers,

Many of you have had a chance to meet the Piriatin family from Kharkiv - Alex, Yuliia, Timur (age 12), Zlata (age 6) and Taya (age 1) - since they arrived with us at Pickeridge on 12th May. You have welcomed them to Sussex and now we are asking if you can help them take the next step on their journey to settle in the UK, at least whilst it isn’t safe to be in Kharkiv.

A great opportunity!

From the moment Alex and Yuliia arrived, they have been keen to find work and get themselves set up to move into their own home and become self-sufficient. However, so far, the work Alex has found has been casual and poorly paid. Without a permanent contract and a significant income, it is highly unlikely that they will be able to get into rented accommodation in our area. However, I’m really pleased to say that thanks to some friends who live in Wiltshire, Alex and Yuliia have the chance to move there where there will be work for both of them and accommodation for the whole family. They have been offered jobs at Copri Systems, a family business based at a farm near Devizes which makes temporary buildings for industry. Their accommodation will be on site beside the family that run the business and farm.

Why we need your help

The immediate problem is that the accommodation offered won’t be ready for a few months (part of Alex’s job is to help convert it). So, to get Alex and Yuliia settled in Wiltshire working and earning, and the children into school for September, we have decided to purchase a second-hand mobile home for them to live in temporarily whilst their house is being done up. Our aim is to raise £5,000 which will cover the cost of the mobile home.

Once the family moves out, the mobile home will be sold, and the money will go towards covering the costs of the furniture and equipment they will need to set up home including a piano for Timur. Timur is an excellent pianist and has been awarded a piano scholarship for lessons since he arrived in the UK.

Please can you help us raise £5000!

Background

For those that don’t know, I’d like to tell you a bit about Alex and family and how they came to be with us in Ardingly, West Sussex.

The moment the Homes for Ukraine scheme was launched, Will and I decided to sign up. To be honest, we didn’t think we’d find a family quickly as at that point no-one was matching hosts with refugees. However, two days later we had a call from a friend, Mel, who told us her nephew Sam Ridge, was in contact with a Ukrainian family fleeing the war. Sam, who had worked with and be-friended Alex in the salad fields of Wiltshire last summer, had been hearing first-hand from Alex about his and his family’s escape from Kharkiv and the 2,500-mile journey they took through Eastern Europe to Estonia. (Alex was not conscripted by the Ukrainian army as he had three children and was therefore exempt.) After hearing their plight and knowing they wanted to come to the UK, we offered to sponsor them.

Although we were initially promised that the visas would be through in days, eventually, after waiting more than 6 weeks, Alex, Yullia and the children had the paperwork they needed to come to the UK. The family arrived and settled in with us at our farm in Sussex – such a long way from Kharkiv, a large industrial city in Eastern Ukraine only 30km from the Russian border. Although, of course, we tried to make them feel as safe and as welcome as possible, the trauma of the sudden departure, leaving friends and family behind, and the lack of certainty about their and their country’s future has been, and is, incredibly difficult for them.

Great Walstead, where our daughter is at school, welcomed Zlata and Timur in and I would like to say a special thank you to Mr Calvey, the Head, and all the teachers who have supported and helped them whilst they have been at the school. The broader school community of parents and children has also been amazing – from providing school uniform for them both in literally 24 hours, to donations of clothes and household equipment, English lessons, as well as, of course, their friendship. Both Zlata and Timur have contributed back in turn through their participation in school life (I won’t ever forget Timur playing the piano at the school concert – he was amazing) as well as providing their classmates with an insight into Ukrainian culture but also an understanding of the plight of refugees and the reality of war – an invaluable lesson for those generally sheltered from life’s difficulties.

I’d also like to thank the local community who have rallied around facilitating get- togethers as well as practical support and advice.

Sam’s family, particularly his mum, Jo, has been really helpful and supportive too and it is through a family connection of Jo’s that this opportunity in Wiltshire has come to fruition.

Alex and Yuliia are hard-working and kind and wonderful parents. It has been an honour and a privilege to have been able to get to know and spend time with them. Our children and their children have had a lovely two months getting to know each other, playing in the garden and with the animals. It’s going to be hard to say goodbye, but I know we will continue to stay in touch.

I really hope you will be able to help the Piriatin family get to the next stage of their journey here in the UK. All that Alex and Yuliia hope for is to be able to support themselves and their family here. This will give them an opportunity to do so.

Love,

Rachel, Will, Finn and Tilia xx

Pickeridge Farm, Ardingly