A mother-of-two who fled the war in Ukraine has thanked the staff at a Welsh centre that looked after them in a special way. When Albina and her two children had to flee the war in Ukraine last year the family found sanctuary at the Urdd residential centre in Llangrannog along with a number of other refugees from the country.
In April of last year the Welsh Government launched its Homes for Ukraine scheme, which offered help and guidance to both refugees and hosts. In an upcoming episode of S4C’s heartwarming series Y ‘Sgubor Flodau [The Flower Barn] Albina wanted to honour those that had helped her when she moved from Ukraine to Llangrannog in Ceredigion. The show follows a talented team who create floral masterpieces for those who want to say thank you to someone.
In the third episode of the series Albina commissioned a unique floral display for the staff at Llangrannog. Having now resettled in Plwmp in Ceredigion and working at the Urdd centre's kitchen she explained how the staff had been “incredible” during the time she and her family had stayed at the centre last year.
Read more: The Ukrainian families given safety and a warm welcome in an Urdd centre in Wales
Ahead of a reunion they’d planned at the Urdd centre, in which Albina would present the floral display, she said: “I have come here today to ask for flowers to be sent to the Urdd centre in Llangrannog where I had lived for five months after fleeing from the war in Ukraine”.
She added: “We were in a terrible situation because of the horrible war, that’s why me and my two children came to the Urdd centre – to be safe. The people at Llangrannog were very kind, they gave us a very warm welcome, everyone tried to help, support us and give us everything. I want to say thank you to everyone – all the staff, they were incredible.”
Talking to the team Albina decided that the best way to thank the staff at the centre was to present a flower arrangement which included sunflowers – the symbol of Ukraine. “We have two colours in our flag,” she explained. “It’s blue and yellow – the yellow is like sunflowers, the blue is the blue sky.” She later added: “I love flowers – when I see flowers I forget about my sorrows and my mood improves.”
Later on in the programme the team were busy combining the colours of the Ukrainian and Welsh flag in a beautiful flower arrangement. They decided to use faux flowers so that the staff at the Urdd centre and the Ukrainian refugees could remember their time together forever.
The arch of flowers was finally introduced during a reunion in which Ukrainian refugees, who had settled all over Ceredigion and Wales, returned to Llangrannog to catch up with the staff who had looked after them when they first moved to the country. Albina said: “I want to thank all the staff at Llangrannog, to the people of Wales, and the people of the UK – they are incredible.”
Many were taken aback by the arch with some visibly emotional as they looked at the display. In response the director of the Llangrannog Urdd centre said: “It is always lovely to receive flowers any time of the year but I know that these flowers mean a lot to us as a body of staff. It’s nice to have something we can treasure forever and for decades to come we can be reminded of this time.”
Another member of staff at Llangrannog said: “I think the flowers are fantastic. They truly are a symbol of the friendship that has developed between us and the refugees from Ukraine. And they are a symbol of hope for these incredibly strong people.”
One Ukrainian, who spoke to one of the florists who attended the reunion, said: “You live on the hills – that means you live closer to God. That is the only explanation I have of this.” Albina also seemed happy with the display that she commissioned. She said: “The flowers were beautiful, they were fantastic. Everyone was happy to see them. Diolch yn fawr.”
You can watch Y 'Sgubor Flodau every Tuesday evening on S4C at 9pm.
