Couple rent town house for refugee family

A COUPLE have rented a house in Henley for a Ukrainian family to live independently.

Jamie and Martin Amor, who live in Hambleden, are renting a three-bed home in Adwell Square for four refugees who arrived from western Ukraine on Saturday.

They run a children’s yoga company, Cosmic Kids, and Petro Kriachko had been working for them for two years. When Russia invaded Ukraine they wanted to do what they could to help.

Mr Amor, 51, said: “Our business has just done so well through the coronavirus pandemic and it’s nice to think about someone else and not just do things for ourselves. If we were in their situation, we would hope someone would do this for us.”

Mrs Amor, 43, said: “We live in a small cottage with one-and-a-half bedrooms, one bathroom and two dogs, so it wouldn’t have worked to have them staying with us.

“It’s also really isolated where we are but in Henley they can walk into the town centre and there’s good public transport and lots of help for Ukrainians. Plus, this gives them more independence to figure it out and find their own way.” The day the war started, the couple looked into sponsoring Mr Kriachko and his family but didn’t make progress until the Government launched its Homes for Ukraine scheme.

In the meantime, Mr and Mrs Amor offered to pay him in advance for work he had not done yet to help speed up the process.

Mr Kriachko, 38, had initially been unwilling to uproot his family, hoping the tide of the war would turn, but as the conflict continued he decided to leave.

He, together with his wife, Katya, 37, daughter Yeva, 12, and son Dawid, four, and his parents, crossed the border into Poland just before their sponsorship applications expired.

Mr Kriachko’s parents had gone with them but then changed their minds and went back to Kyiv. The family arrived at Victoria Coach Station having first travelled 20 hours by bus to get to Frankfurt in Germany where they stopped off with friends before another 18-hour ride into London.

There they were picked up by Mr and Mrs Amor to take them to their new home. The Amors had only been given the keys to the house two days before, after it had been painted and re-carpeted by the landlords.

The couple spent that time collecting furniture. Residents in and around Henley helped with donations after Mrs Amor put a wish list on social media and the Freecycle website.

The house started empty but came fully furnished, including kitchen utensils, two televisions, sofas, beds, a rug and cabinets. People also gave lots of children’s books, games, filled pencil cases and decorations.

Mrs Amor said: “It’s amazing how forthcoming people have been. One neighbour here came over and just handed me £80 for the family — people love helping. One woman gave a welcome bag for the kids with teddies which I thought was so sweet.

“Some people can’t offer to rent a house but they do whatever they can trying to offer a gesture of welcome.”

Two adult bikes were donated and two children’s bikes were bought from the tip in High Wycombe and when the Ukrainians arrived, they went to get them serviced at Athlete Service in Henley, which they did for free.

As the family do not have a car, Mr and Mrs Amor saw it as a necessity that they had a way of travelling.

They also contacted Zoom about a six-month free deal they were offering which came as part of a longer contract and the company dropped the contract for them so they are not obliged to pay afterwards. The couple have contacted schools and confirmed Dawid’s place at Sacred Heart Primary School while Yeva is yet to find a place somewhere but they are in contact with Oxfordshire County Council, the education authority, about it.

The house will be rented for the refugees for one year and Mr Amor said he does not want the family to feel indebted to them. Mrs Amor said: “Petro creates 3D backgrounds for the Cosmic Yoga videos and he has been the best person we’ve ever worked with doing that. We need people in this country like that — they have great skills.”

Mr Kriachko said that while they were sad to leave their homeland they are excited to be in Henley. He said: “It’s a wonderful place — it’s like a movie.”

Mrs Kriachko, who is a maths tutor, said: “I still can’t believe we’re here. Everywhere in Henley is beautiful — there are so many pretty things and places.

“We’ve received so much love from people we haven’t even met yet and we are just so grateful for all the support and help from everyone and Martin and Jamie.

“I can’t find the right words to explain the gratitude I feel to be here. The house is perfect and there are so many toys for Dawid. There is so much space to feel relaxed and safe.”