Helping Others

As well as volunteering for local charities and organisations, Charlie and his wife Sophie welcomed a number of refugees to live with them until they found their own feet

Anas and Charlie in a photography exhibition in Oxford celebrating gratefulness to refugees. Yes, my handwriting is that bad

Back in 2016 my wife Sophie saw a Facebook post from an American journalist friend asking whether anyone could help Ziad, a Syrian refugee, who had just arrived in the UK. One thing led to another, and first Ziad, and then Anas and then his wife and two children came to live with us over the course of the next year. Others dropped in for a few days or a few weeks. We really enjoyed them staying with us. One of the things that we learned was that helping them sort through basic problems which were relatively simple for locals were huge help for them – doctor’s appointments, English lessons, opening bank accounts, finding jobs and getting kids into school. Last year, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led to Nika and Khrystyna staying with us through the summer. Nika’s now continuing her university course but in the UK rather than Kyiv and Khrystyna is back in southwestern Ukraine, studying for her medical degree.