Nine months ago, when Yevheniia Rizina and her mum arrived in Cardiff, they only had a few remnants of their old life with them: one suitcase full of their worldly goods, and their two cats. "Our cats are our children," Yevheniia, 38, laughs. "We could not leave them in Ukraine."
They make up two of some 1,000 displaced Ukrainians the capital has welcomed in the last year since Russia invaded their homeland. Upon their arrival, the mother and daughter were taken in by a host family in Penylan where they have lived ever since.
It was no easy feat for them to start anew, and in many ways they are still settling into their new lives. Yevheniia once worked as an economist in Ukraine, but she has struggled to get a job in Cardiff due to her lack of confidence in speaking English. No job means she can't afford to rent a place of her own, and she and her mum currently live on Universal Credit. In the three months after she arrived, Yevheniia admits she felt "discomfort" settling into her new life.
