The Gales were nervous about inviting the Koletvinovs into their home. But one week on, everyone is sharing language lessons and traditional dishes
Russia-Ukraine war: latest news
When Basma Gale invited a family of Ukrainian refugees into her home in Kent a week ago, she felt nervous. Would the couple’s two small children be traumatised by the bombing they had experienced? Would her own children get along with them? She had never done anything like this before: would it all be a little awkward?
A week later, she says Sergei and Oksana Koletvinov feel like family. She is very proud of the way her children, eight year-old Safiya and six-year-old Joshua, have befriended the couple’s eight-year-old daughter Alica and two-year-old son, Cemeh, despite not sharing a language. “Within half an hour of their arrival, all four children were running about the house together, having pillow fights and playing with playdough.”
