THERE has been lots of painting of spare bedrooms and deep cleaning going on in Tavistock this week, as the community prepares to welcome Ukrainain refugees into their ‘hearts and homes’.

The group of 43 Ukrainian women and children, many of whom already know each other, are expected to be flying into Bristol Airport next Tuesday (April 12), to be welcomed by Tavistock households. The effort is being coordinated through a new Facebook page Tavistock and Ukrainian Friends, set up by Tavistock residents Julia Law and Michelle Davis.

Julia said: ‘We put a post up on Facebook saying we wanted to host a family and it has taken off from there. I was contacted with a girl from Kyv. One or two of us linked in with a family and they knew other people who wanted to come and it snowballed from there. We had a big meeting at the Red & Black Club here in Tavistock last week and it was attended by 70 people.’

Julia is sponsoring a woman called Tatiana, originally from Kyiv who is now in safety in Poland, waiting to come to Tavistock

‘She has a 15-year-old son and Tavistock College have been wonderful,’ she said. ‘They have offered him a place in Year 10. My guest describes herself as one of the lucky ones. They have got passports and they had good jobs.’

She said she was aware that sensitivity would be needed when the refugees arrived.

‘It is all women and children who are coming. They can’t get over the kindness and hospitality they are finding here, that people are offering their hearts and homes. They are humble and at the same time they are a proud people. They still have family and friends back there in Ukraine and are worried about them. My guest I know is going through a difficult time, and she is very appreciative of what we are offering.’

Mayor of Tavistock Andy Hutton and his wife Sue are part of the group and are hosting a Ukrainian family. The mayor said the meeting at the Red & Black group had gone ‘very well’ with members of community groups, churches offering help and many people volunteering to become hosts.

‘We have now set up a WhatsApp group for people who have already agreed to have a family and that has been very active and very useful and over the past few weeks we have been sorting out how to apply for schools. We have already had our houses looked at by the environmental health people and everybody has been told their houses are absolutely fine. We are in the process of having DBS checks so everything is going ahead.’

He said they were looking forward to welcoming their guests. ‘They are also very excited about coming, so much so that they are already planning that when they get here they want to have a Ukrainain evening for Tavistock.’

He added: ‘There has been a lot of deep cleaning and painting going on, husbands painting spare bedrooms. We have the room waiting to welcome them and all we are waiting for are the visas. The plan is to go to Bristol Airport to meet them and meet them all.’