Stood under a cornflower blue sky in peak summer in the beautiful Welsh countryside it's hard not to agree that the kids are "lucky" to be here. Even Wales' First Minister praised the "peace and tranquillity" at one of the five Urdd centres. But in reality the kids and families resident at the facility this summer are not lucky at all.
They're here because they've fled a war between Russia and Ukraine. Everyone at the Welsh centre is smiling today but hidden behind those smiles is an unimaginable turmoil: Twins Iryna and Lina Matusevych left their Ukrainian home in Kyiv in 30 minutes flat, each managing to pack their lives into a single rucksack. Hanna Tiyechko is happy her nine-year-old son Oleksii is safe and attending the Urdd school but she's left her eldest son, barely 22, fighting on the frontline. Albina Solyliak and her children Andrii, 15, and Marta, 14, are safe for now but her home is perilously close to being razed by Russian bombs..
These women and children – with families and homes and jobs in Ukraine – are refugees being hosted by the Urdd at one of their facilities. They've all arrived on the Welsh Government sponsor scheme. None of them ever thought they'd be in this position but as Lina said: "We have no choice." She's 22 years old and studying for the Ukrainian equivalent of a degree in international relations. She speaks five languages. Last year she applied for an internship to work with a UN refugee organisation. Now she is one.
