Ukrainian ladies visiting the Museum of Ryde

We were very lucky and honoured here, at the Museum of Ryde, to have been visited recently by two Ukrainian ladies, Olha and Victoria. They were very interested in the Museum and soon after their arrival we started chatting.

Olha fled the Ukrainian city of Kherson with her daughter and their cat a year ago and have faced many challenges since they arrived in the UK, including enrolling her daughter in school. Olha is an artist, who writes poetry, and used to organize artistic events in Ukraine.  She was even preparing to shoot a short film about Kherson’s streets, with the rehearsal already scheduled, when the war started.

“That was the day they bombed airports simultaneously across the country. Public transport stopped running from our city. The frontline ran straight to our city and a week later we found ourselves under occupation. One morning changed our lives, and that of every Ukrainian family, forever.”

Victoria is a doctor, and worked as a paediatrician in Ukraine; she also fled the country with her daughter.  She is struggling to get her degree recognised, but as Ukraine is not part of the EU, the chances are slim.  Victoria has applied to work as a Healthcare Assistant, trying to help healthcare professionals and share her knowledge, so that she can give something back in return for her safety in the UK.

Both women have husbands and families back home in Ukraine, so while they are safe here, they are fearful for all their relatives they left behind.