Support hub opens to help displaced Ukrainians

An organisation that helps Ukrainians displaced by war to restart their lives in the UK has launched a branch in Leeds.

The sixth Ukrainian Education Hub opened in Chapeltown on Friday, joining similar facilities in London, Chichester, Oxford, Bath and Manchester.

Founders Yevgenita Zhyryakova and Ksenia Venger said the group aims to unite Ukrainian and British people, while providing advice about education, careers and culture.

"It's really difficult because when you come here, you think you know English, but it's not true. You need to learn the British accent, you need to learn British rules," said Zhyryakova.

"We want to unite British people and Ukrainians and we talk about war, we talk about education and we talk about how Ukrainians can integrate in this community and how Ukrainians can help British people and British people can help us."

Zhyryakova and Venger were displaced when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and are using the skills they learned to help others integrate.

"We want to say thank you to the British people who supported us, who really united Ukrainians and British people, who helped for years, who really give us a lot of opportunities here," said Zhyryakova.

"We don't know when the war will stop. We hope it's this year, but a lot of people are not back home because they don't have a home.

"In Kharkov, in Mariupol a lot of people lost their homes so maybe after a few years some people, some Ukrainian people will stay in UK and we hope we can help these people to adapt," she said.

The group focuses on support for women and children, offering catch-up lessons for children who have missed schooling, and confidence workshops for women.

The group also supports Ukrainans looking to move their businesses to the UK or start from scratch, teaching them about tax and business regulations.

"It's new rules, new culture, and we need to adapt for everything. For example, even to write a CV in the UK, it's not like we used to do in Ukraine. And the same with interviews, with school, everything," said Venger.

"We've got a huge number of Ukrainians here and they need support and we also invite people from villages and towns around Leeds.

"Come to us and get training, connections, help each other and connect Ukrainians and British people."

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