For sisters Nadiia and Vira Honcharenko, everything about their new home in Darlington is different - worlds apart from their lives in Ukraine.

But it’s a safe haven for two young refugees who had to leave everything they knew when they fled their family home as bombs fell on the airfields around it.

They are among 12 million people to have left their homes since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in February.

And they are among thousands to have been welcomed into homes across the North East under the Government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme.

The sisters now live with Durham University professor Nicole Westmarland and her children in an arrangement that has brought an element of brightness to the darkest time of their lives.

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Professor Nicole Westmarland and Nadiia Honcharenko. Picture: Sarah Caldecott

They found their host after spending weeks combing social media, vetting prospective sponsors and searching desperately for a match.

“We did have some offers that were not suitable, some from men that made us feel afraid,” said 22-year-old Nadiia.

“We wanted to come to where we could feel safe and when we messaged Nicole she was so helpful, we talked every day and we just knew we would be fine, it was a relief.”

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A long-distance friendship began to thrive as the trio worked together on an application process that was as long and arduous as it was intrusive and complicated.

Professor Westmarland said: “The scheme requires a huge level of trust from the start and it’s frustrating.

“You have to share all of the personal information you’re usually warned against giving out, like passport details.”

Nadiia added: “All I could do was rely on my feelings and trust in this new country and this new person.

“Our parents were worried, they felt the risk more than us because we got such a warm feeling from Nicole, she shared so much with us that we felt like family before arriving.”

The sisters’ journey to Darlington was hampered by red tape, visa delays and other complications but in May, they touched down in the UK for the first time.

“Everything is so different and new for us,” said Nadiia, “I remember arriving and seeing the houses, the sheep in the fields and I felt so happy that everything was nice.

“At the same time, it was so stressful because we had so much to arrange, from jobs to registering at the doctor.”

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Nadiia Honcharenko, 22. Picture: Sarah Caldecott

Professor Westmarland, however, had anticipated the scale of the admin that would face Nadiia and Vira and ensured they were well supported to settle into their new community.

For her, the sponsorship process began from a desire to do something to help those affected by the war in Ukraine.

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She said: “I was at university looking at my own students and thinking I would not like any of them to be in a similar situation.

“The process was weird as I was sharing a lot of personal information with two people I’d never met, but I could not have asked for a better match.

“It’s been good for putting things into perspective – I might be moaning about work then I’ll think at least my exams weren’t cancelled because the Russians occupied my town.

“My problems don’t seem as big then.”

The experience of war will undoubtedly stay with the sisters forever, and they worry for their family in Ukraine every day.

But for now, they have a place to stay, a safe roof over their heads, jobs and new friendships blossoming.

“We’ve had some time to relax and realise we are safe,” says Nadiia.

“Everyone we’ve met has wanted to help us, they all want to know our story.

“We’ve had so much support and it’s proof that people really do wish us well.

“I didn’t expect people here would feel so involved in a situation so far from home.”

Today's conversations with Nadiia and Nicole are the first in a series of special reports giving an insight into life as a Ukrainian refugee. 

 

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