A Ukrainian child refugee was overwhelmed with gifts and supportive messages after his sponsor family put a simple message on Facebook.
Kostya, 9, came to the UK with his mum Nataliia, 49, after Russia invaded their homeland country. They arrived in Liverpool in May and have since stayed with Catherine McGouran, her Italian partner Davide, and her two sons Luca, 5, and Leonardo, 2.
Both asylum seekers had very few possessions when they arrived in the UK. Catherine posted on a Facebook page to see whether anyone had an old school uniform for Kostya.
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Once the mum of two posted on social media she was bombarded with comments and offers of help. One woman not only offered a second hand uniform but also bought Kostya brand new socks and shoes.
Another parent organised a play date with a couple of children from the school, while his teacher and the inclusion team got in touch with Catherine to offer their support. Catherine told the Liverpool ECHO: “I was heartened by everyone's will and generosity. It was so kind of everybody.
“There is a clear sense of community within Liverpool. I was flooded with messages. My two children and Kostya get on really well, especially my two-year-old as he doesn’t speak much English either.
“[Nataliia and Kostya] are settling in really well, the council have been great too as they have organised Ukrainians working together.”
To claim Universal Credit Nataliia has to send her passport off but she is terrified she will not get it off, according to Catherine. Nataliia told the ECHO: “I like it in the UK. I like the people, I very often need help and lots of people are happy to help.
“It’s safe here. It was a very hard decision to leave home, we had to go through Estonia and it took us a couple of days (to travel through Europe).
“I am now helping [Kostya] improve his English as he doesn’t speak much at all. I like Cathy a lot and we get on really well. We are really lucky.”
There were 5.2million displaced Ukrainians across Europe as of July 4, according to the UN. The BBC reported that from last month the UK Government had issued 142,500 visas to refugees.
People like Catherine who host Ukrainian refugees receive £350 a month.
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