How Calderdale has become a home away from home for Ukrainian refugees fleeing war

On a visit to the centre in March, The Yorkshire Post talked to Olena Bezlepkina, a writer who arrived in Halifax just a few days before, having fled Ukraine, where her parents remain.

Olena, 46, speaking with the help of her Halifax-based host Mandy Cioch, says: “It is very tragic for me because I have 12 (close) friends who (have been) killed in this war. It’s so much for me. It’s so much for Ukraine.”

Among the friends she has lost was a soldier whose death she found out about just after arriving in England.

“It’s very sad, his story, but it’s our war," she says. “He was killed in Bakhmut and I cannot speak about him without tears.”

She describes him as a “simple citizen of Ukraine,” but adds that “he needed to go (fight) in the war. He was a great patriot.”

Mandy’s husband Ihor – also known as Ian – is of Ukrainian heritage. His father, Petro, was born in a village in western Ukraine and settled in Huddersfield after the Second World War, so Ian has always been a member of local Ukranian clubs. “When we met we started going to the dances at the Ukrainian club, and so I was always interested in the music and the dance and the food of the Ukraine,” says Mandy, 61. “So when the war happened, it made us decide to do things to help.”

They homed a previous guest last June, but she quickly found work and moved into her own accommodation in September.

At the recommendation of Olena’s friend in Hebden Bridge, they got in touch with her in November, initially exchanging internet messages and video calls.

Mandy says: “Since Olena arrived, we have moments where we’re laughing and we’re so glad she’s here and she’s happy, and then half an hour later she might get some news from Ukraine or we hear something on the radio and then she’s sad.”

The Government offers financial support of £350 a month, says Mandy, so she and Ian are not out of pocket providing a space for Olena. “In my house we’ve only got two rooms downstairs, two rooms upstairs, so it’s a small house, but we have a small spare room - why not let somebody use it?”

Not only has Mandy taken in refugees, but she has also driven to take to aid to Ukraine twice, in May and August last year. They continue to send aid in lorries once a month, having made contact with the Polish Red Cross and volunteers, she says.

Emergency rations and painkillers, wheelchairs, blood pressure monitors and surgical equipment are among the items they have sent.

Olena, of course, hopes to return to Ukraine when she can, and says: “We need help. I understand that so many countries help but still we need to stop this war. We need to stop the (killing) of our young men, the best our patriots, the best of our minds, of a generation. We need to stop it - stop Putin.”

Another woman who has settled in Calderdale is Olga Fedchenko, a PR manager and copywriter who worked alongside her husband, ex-champion boxer Sergiy Fedchenko, at his Theodoros boxing club in Kharkiv.

After fleeing when the war started and staying for some months in Chernivtsi, western Ukraine, Olga and her daughter, 16-year-old Polina, fled to Germany to stay with a friend and then came to England under the Homes for Ukraine scheme and are staying with their sponsor Amanda Amanda Woolley, in Todmorden, arriving in September.

“It's very difficult for me and for my daughter, of course, and we don't know when we can see (Sergiy) again,” says Olga, who turns 40 this month. “But we can’t stay in Kharkiv, it's very dangerous and my husband says: ‘You need to be in a safe place’.”

Late last year, however, Sergiy was able to visit Calderdale and offer masterclasses in boxing clubs, but also used the time to help build up relations and facilitate aid to Kharkiv. Becasue of electricity problems, alternative sources of light and heat are needed in Ukraine. As a result, 50,000 candle jars were provided with the help of Nicky Story, who runs Mexbrough-based Supplies for Candles, with shipments gradually arriving from January this year.

Meanwhile, as hosts of events such as a Ukrainian Christmas celebration with a choir, carols and poems, King’s Church has become a vital place of comfort for those who have had to leave loved ones behind and settle in a new land. Speaking about a Ukrainian talent show it hosted, Paul Blakey MBE, operations and development manager at the church, says: “Generally we wouldn’t understand a word of what was about to happen but they simply won our hearts and they’re very much part of who we are now and part of our family and culture. There’s stuff like that that’s very simple but actually is very profound in the friendships and partnerships (it develops) to stand with a community who’s on its knees.”

- Ukrainians in Calderdale will host a charity ball at The Arches in Dean Clough, Halifax, on June 24 to raise funds for humanitarian efforts. Tickets are £50. Email [email protected]