My son Max can now find friends
EVERY morning Kateryna Dehtiar and her teenage son Max call family back in eastern Ukraine to check that they are OK.
As food and water became increasingly scarce and they suffered days-long power cuts, the pair fled.
Now they are staying with a host family in Newtonhill, Aberdeenshire.
Despite being a hospital laboratory manager at home, the language barrier means Miss Dehtiar, 43, cannot do the same role here. She will instead be looking for work as a cleaner or in catering.
And she will be able to focus on a new job when Max, 14, goes off to his summer course with Kings Camps. She said: ‘Max is just on his phone every day, as his friends are scattered around the world in Poland, America and Germany.
‘I want him to come off his phone and start being an active teenager again, as he used to go to these sorts of things at home every summer. I want him to make friends.’
The summer camps are going to be a welcome break from the turmoil he and the family have been forced to endure.
Miss Dehtiar said: ‘He’s really looking forward to it. When we were given the offer we were really happy.’ She also said that she remains thankful to locals for the way they have been made to feel at home.