Charity helps Ukrainians settle in city
A Perthshire councillor who helped rescue 50 youngsters from Ukraine through his charity has told how families have now moved to permanent homes in the city.
Strathallan councillor Steven Carr, who chairs the charity Dnipro Kids – an organisation he founded in 2005 – said the charity has now entered into a “new phase” which has seen two families move from accommodation in Edinburgh to Perth.
Two years ago, in the early days of the war, Dnipro Kids, run by football fans from Edinburgh made headlines around the world when it evacuated the group of more than 50 children and their carers from orphanage families.
The group was the first to arrive in Scotland fleeing the war. It remains the only group of cared-for youngsters from Ukraine in the UK. Over 25,000 Ukrainians, most of them women and children, have now taken routes to Scotland.
Steven, who was elected as a councillor in 2022, said: “When our story first hit the news, the brutal invasion of Ukraine by Putin’s Russia was in its early full flow.
“In amongst the horrors of this war the Dnipro Kids charity, which was started by supporters of Hibernian Football Club including myself in 2005, began evacuating 50 orphanage children to Scotland.
“This unfolding story captured the hearts of the people in this country and beyond, as they followed their journey out of Ukraine, through Poland and eventually to Scotland as the first group of displaced Ukrainians to enter the UK.
“Since then, we’ve cared for them – we’ve managed to get all the kids into schools, they are all registered with dentists and GPS, many are in college or working, and we continue to support their efforts to integrate.
“We make sure every kid gets a birthday gift and a Christmas present. We organise occasional treats and short-breaks. It has been non-stop, and we’re grateful for the amazing help we’ve had from Edinburgh College, City of Edinburgh Council’s Ukrainian Hub, Perth and Kinross Council, and the many kind donors who have donated so generously to help support our help work.”
Councillor Carr is now calling on people to continue supporting those who are still fleeing the war in Ukraine.
Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 in an escalation of the Russo-ukrainian War that started in 2014.
The invasion became the largest attack on a European country since World War II.
Following this, the Super Sponsor Scheme was launched by the Scottish Government helped cut through red tape around visa requirements, allowing Ukrainians to find safe sanctuary quicker.
But displaced Ukrainians within the UK continue to face uncertainty around visas and their ability to remain in the UK.
New applications for visas will only receive an initial 18-month permission to stay, as opposed to the three years granted previously.
Steven added: “It has been estimated that over 12 million Ukrainians have been displaced by war, with an estimated 8 million seeking sanctuary outside Ukraine. Sadly, more will follow. There is a real worry that the western support for Ukraine might wane in the face of events elsewhere, and with the prospect of renewed Russian advances becoming a greater reality in the coming months Ukraine may once again find many of its citizens displaced from their homes. The prospect of US help to Ukraine falling dramatically or even stopping is extremely worrying.
“When Dnipro Kids started supporting orphanage children back in 2005 the country had many large orphanages, often upwards of 100 children.
“Thankfully the state started replacing these with the “family type” orphanages that we support today. It is sad that it has become necessary to reopen large orphanages once again, such is the need to provide accommodation for the thousands of orphaned children this war has created!
“We can all help. Please continue to support the charities helping Ukrainians. If you can, then please contact your local MP/ MSP and encourage them to continue the support for our Ukrainian friends in their daily struggle. And if they need to escape this horrendous war in Ukraine, let’s continue to welcome them.”