Ukrainian women gather for welcoming lunch, chat and English language class

UKRAINIAN women gathered together for lunch at the d:two centre in Henley.

The free lunches are held weekly at the centre in Market Place and organised by volunteers from Henley Baptist Church and the Henley Quakers.

The guests enjoyed a pasta salad and tea and coffee as they chatted in both Ukrainian and English.

Volunteers had brought in clothes for the refugees, some of whom also attended an English language class.

Jeremy Bray, pastor of the Baptist Church, who helped start the lunches with his wife Jo, said: “It gives the Ukrainian folk an opportunity to connect in their own language.

“They’re obviously missing home and their families hugely so there is a point of friendly connection with each other.

“It also reinforces the message that there are people from this country who are rooting for them and want to give them the best possible experience while they’re here.

“We have a lot of English people helping with the food and hosting and it’s nice they have the time to be appreciated for all they’re doing. There’s mutual benefit. We might be providing the space and some of the volunteers but there are also volunteers from other churches and organisations.”

Maggie Atkinson, who lives in Queen Street, also helped start the lunches last summer.

She said: “It’s a community hub for them to make new friends. None of them knew each other before coming to England. It’s also a fantastic network for us to hear their needs relating to furniture, clothing and accommodation. A girl has just asked me if I know of a new car for her.

“Last week, they did this fabulous meal for all the volunteers to say thank you. They brought 20 different Ukrainian dishes here for us to enjoy.”

Diana Barnett, who helped organise English language classes for the Ukrainians, said: “It’s tremendous that so many have stayed the course.

“We started off with conversation clubs and they said they wanted classes. I phoned around and eventually found there were classes in Maidenhead they could join free but it was difficult for them to get there.

“I spoke to the Windsor Forest College Group, which includes schools in Windsor, Egham and Burchetts Green and asked them to run a course in Henley because we have a lot of Ukrainians living here and it started in September.

“I feel helping is something that we should be doing. It’s the Henley Quakers really, not me.

“We were willing for our building to be used for whatever was needed and then because some of them wanted more English practice we put on an extra class after these lunches and a conversation club in the library for anyone who wants to practise English.

“It’s very hard if you don’t have a host and live independently. You might not get a chance to practise English.”