Ukrainian Holiday | David

During the summer I was delighted to volunteer during a brand new event at Alltnacriche, a family holiday especially for Ukrainian refugees.

Colin and Ruth Sinclair led the small team which had come together to support the families. Many of the children attended with their mums and grandparents—their dads often still in Ukraine, many in the army.

The holiday had all the features you’d expect at an  SU event, but with plenty of flexibility and free time for families to access all of Alltnacriche's facilities. A highlight for me was spending time in the games hall just kicking a ball around with some of the lads… then hearing one of the grandparents who had been spectating share how much it meant to her to see the children playing, with the freedom to enjoy simple, everyday things.

Here were people who really needed a holiday, and we  were able to deliver that— a place of respite, spending time in Scotland’s beautiful countryside.

Families were invited to join a short Bible reflection led by Colin, both morning and evening, and to our surprise and delight everyone took part. At the start we weren’t sure how we were going to manage the language differences in these together times, but very quickly several of the participants stepped into the role of translators.

During the week we gradually got to know each other, building friendships and connections. Refugees can feel isolated, so one of the benefits of this event was for the participants living in different parts of Scotland to get to know one another. Already connections made during the camp have helped one of the families to relocate in order to connect with a community in their new town. Following the event, we know some of the families now attend services in their local churches.

Back in 2011, I was part of a team of young people, led by Jackie Ringan, who went to Ukraine as part of the partnership with Open Bible. At the time, I could not have anticipated the value of that short connection with the country in the work that I do.

In my day job, I work for Scottish Faiths Action for Refugees (sfar.org.uk), supporting faith groups of all kinds to connect with refugees. Often my work is one step removed, so this was a lovely opportunity to get to know people directly and hear about some of their challenges. The event was a successful partnership between SU Scotland and Scottish Faiths Action for Refugees, and I hope there will be many more opportunities to work together. 

David Moodie