Ukrainian refugees give back to 'second home' centre

Almost 220,000 Ukrainian refugees arrived in the UK up to December 2024 through two dedicated schemes set up after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with 17% of them initially arriving in London.

Among them was Igor, a children's fiction writer from Kyiv, who recalled how lost he felt when he first arrived in the capital.

"Imagine, you move to London, with one bag and no knowledge of English. It was incredibly difficult," he said, but added since he set foot in the Ukrainian Welcome Centre in central London he "didn't want to go anywhere else".

The charity has helped thousands of Ukrainians forge new lives in the UK from its base in the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral just off Bond Street.

The centre has provided a lifeline and sanctuary for many Ukrainian refugees, not just Igor, providing immediate as they navigated Biometric Residence Permits, GPs and school curriculums.

Run by volunteers and ed entirely by donations - including English textbooks, computers, and even a kiln for clay sculpting classes - the centre was operational within weeks of the full-scale invasion.

After benefitting from immigration advice and English language classes Igor has become a volunteer himself, leading children's sessions and the centre's "Ukrainian gatherings", where the community come together to discuss both Ukrainian and British history and culture.

For Igor, "the centre is a second home - or now, perhaps even my first".

"This isn't just a centre, it's a family," he said.

Inna, another centre turned volunteer, described her awe at the breadth of available.

With such a vast network "everything can be resolved" and nobody is turned away, she said.

As a receptionist for the centre, she has helped those who arrive "wide-eyed" and "confused" as she once was.

Becoming a volunteer, she said, had boosted her self-esteem and allowed her to give back to the place she could not imagine surviving without.

Centre co-founder Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski, a fifth-generation Ukrainian-Canadian from the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral, said he still ed the early hours of 24 February 2022 "as if it was this morning".

He said after he woke up in the early hours to a flood of phone notifications, he "thought somebody was sending me some kind of fake news that Ukraine is being invaded".

It was only when he turned on BBC News and saw bombs falling on Kyiv that his disbelief quickly turned into action.

The Ukrainian community gathered in his cathedral, where the idea for the centre was mapped out among the pews.

Together with the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, the cathedral transformed its basement into a one-stop facility providing virtual and online services to Ukrainians arriving in the UK.

Since then it has welcomed thousands including King Charles, who officially opened the centre in November 2022 during a visit with Ukraine's First Lady, Olena Zelenska.

Andriy Marchenko, the centre's director, said it "started from scratch" and they "scarcely knew anything" but have now successfully helped people to "thrive, not just survive".

Teachers have come out of retirement to provide English language classes, Ukrainian-speaking lawyers and counsellors offer vital legal and mental health , and until recently the Home Office visited the facility every fortnight, providing direct access to immigration advice.

But for every practical service there are just as many creative and wellbeing classes, from knitting and line dancing to "Tea and Talk" afternoons.

In the three years since the full-scale invasion, the refugees' needs have changed.

Those who once needed urgent help with visas now seek advice on careers and polish their English in advanced classes as their lives in the UK become less temporary with every year the war goes on.