The kindness of strangers

Do you fancy a new neighbour? Or a road trip to Poland to collect an unlikely cargo?

This week I chatted to a local friend from my church who is preparing to receive a Ukrainian refugee family to live with them, for however long or short it may be necessary. She was really looking forward to receiving a mum and teenager, just as soon as they are able to extricate themselves from the war-torn far east of Ukraine, by bus or train, and get across the border into Poland.

It’s the kindness that catches my breath. South Yorkshire families are opening their hearts and literally opening their homes to virtual strangers in a time of huge European crisis. My friends already squeeze three young children into their typical 1930s semi. In their case, they converted the long garage to the side of their property some years ago into a bed-sit which has been empty for a few months. “It’s perfect,” she said, to open it to others in need.   

What is also remarkable is how these connections are happening. Some refugees are being connected through the government’s ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme. This time it happened through a Ukrainian Christian friend of a friend in Sheffield who is busy helping his country-folk with relatives in the UK to obtain visas. Long before they meet in person, my friends have been chatting through WhatsApp and Zoom, messaging each other with encouragements. She said they already care deeply about these people’s plight, and they are praying for them every step of their journey of escape.

 On the face of it there is a slightly Bohemian adventurous feel to this endeavour. But it is not as simple as that. Our new Ukrainian neighbours still have huge hurdles to cross. It will take its emotional and physical toll on them. Hosting refugees arriving with next-to-no possessions will, without a doubt, require acts of extreme kindness, patience and service from many of us, in order to help them to settle in our unfamiliar towns and cities.

 Soon, at a time that is impossible to predict, a kind-hearted person will drive a van on a four-day road trip to the Polish border. To bring this family, and perhaps others if space allows, to their new - hopefully temporary – home, 1500 miles west in Sheffield.

This kind of story is being repeated across South Yorkshire.  

That’s the kindness of strangers.

Photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash