Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Refugee Sofiia to set off for peak 589 miles away
AUKRAINIAN refugee is embarking on a 589-mile walk to the UK’s highest peak Ben Nevis in a bid to raise £100,000.
Sofiia Volovyk, 22, fled Kyiv in March – travelling across five countries over seven weeks and 3,000 miles to reach Swindon, where she now lives.
Now on Ukraine’s National Independence Day on Wednesday, she will leave her new home to trek to Scotland.
Sofiia hopes to raise money to split between charities supporting Ukrainian refugees in Britain and on the ground in Ukraine.
“We travelled on so many buses and trains and received amazing gifts of shelter from families along the way,” she said.
“After seven weeks of travelling we finally arrived in London and travelled to Swindon to our new host that we found through the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.”
With the help of other hosts and newly arrived Ukrainians, Sofiia created the Swindon Welcomes Ukraine
This journey is deeply rooted in my personal values of freedom and independence SOFIIA VOLOVYK
committee to help support and integrate the Ukrainian refugees into the community.
The committee’s main work has been to secure extra English classes, more than 100 free bikes, fixed up from donations, and to help Ukrainians find work locally as well as bringing the community together for arts and music events.
Joining Sofiia on her walk is fellow Ukrainian Borys Livshyts, 65, an ultra-distance walker from Ukraine.
Sofiia met Borys at an organised hiking event in 2020 in Kyiv where Sofiia achieved a personal record of covering 100km (62 miles) in 25 hours.
Borys has personally walked huge distances, even setting a 2021 record in Ukraine by walking 255km (159 miles) without sleep and food in only 71 hours. Sofiia will set off from Swindon on Wednesday and journey north to eventually climb Ben Nevis.
The 589-mile journey should take 25 days to complete and will wind through countryside, hills and rough terrain, before finally ascending the challenging peak of Ben Nevis.
Along the way Sofiia hopes to also unite and meet up with other Ukrainian community groups similar to Swindon Welcomes Ukraine, that have been created since the Homes for Ukraine scheme was set up.
Sofiia said, “This journey, other than fundraising, is deeply rooted in my personal values of freedom and independence, ingrained in me from a young age.
“Ukraine, as a nation, had to fight for its independence many years ago and now our fight for freedom from oppression has never been greater.
“Ukrainians have become modern-day pilgrims and so my challenge represents our collective journey to safety.”
The target is to raise at least £100,000 with half supporting the UK’s Ukrainian community through specific projects created by Swindon Welcomes Ukraine, plus half to a charity close to Sofiia’s heart, Rescue Now, which provides evacuation and humanitarian aid.
Leaving behind many friends and family in Ukraine was hard: “Some people just didn’t want to leave their country and I understand that feeling.
“I have been so welcomed by the people of the UK, and so I am dedicating this walk to help those we left behind, and also those that have landed and settled here.
“It is my dream to build a positive Ukrainian community here in the UK and help rebuild the one back home too.”
Sofiia will carry a live tracker (provided by Follow My Challenge), and will be live blogging daily along the route.
To donate to Sofiia’s Justgiving page, visit www.justgiving.com/ crowdfunding/sofiia-volovyk