Ukrainian Hub opens in Tullamore
A Ukrainian Hub where refugees can collect essential supplies has opened in Tullamore and is being jointly manned by a team of volunteers from the local and Ukrainian communities.
The hub was set up under the auspices of Offaly Volunteer Centre and operates from a unit which has been provided free of charge by Offaly Historical Society in Bury Quay.
Manager of Offaly Volunteer Centre, Deirdre Fox, says the Ukrainian Hub has been “a huge boost” for the many displaced Ukrainian families who have arrived in Tullamore after fleeing the war in their native country.
She explains that the hub “evolved organically” as a result of the arrival of a large group of displaced Ukrainians in Tullamore, the majority of whom are currently being accommodated in the Central Hotel on Main street, with the remainder staying with host families.
“The hotel was accepting donations at the start, but when we took over that role we could see that there was a need for a sort of drop-in centre that would become a focal point for the Ukrainian community in the early days, so the hub just evolved and it has been a great success so far,” says Deirdre Fox.
She is very grateful to the staff from the Offaly Hospice charity shop who assisted with the setting up of the Ukrainian Hub providing basic equipment like clothes rails and shelving, and she has also secured the services of “a brilliant young Maths student” from Kiev University, Vlas Novokhatnii, whose function is to represent his community in Tullamore.
Vlas, who is from Dnipro in eastern Ukraine, travelled to Ireland with his mother and is a fluent English speaker, and he says he is “very happy” to act as a translator during his time in Tullamore. “We are very, very grateful for what the people of Tullamore and Ireland have done for our people, and we never take it for granted,” said Vlas, who added that the vast majority of the displaced Ukrainians in Tullamore “are anxious to work and make a positive contribution” to the town during their time here.
The Ukrainian Hub has had to put a pause on all donations of clothes for the moment due to the sheer volume of clothing they have received and which now needs to be sorted, according to Deirdre Fox, but she adds that they are in urgent need of items such as female sanitary products; toiletries; adapters and chargers for phones and umbrellas. “We do not need donations of nappies at the moment either,” she points out.
Deirdre says they have been “overwhelmed” by the generosity of the local community, and by the workload which has been undertaken by both local and Ukranian volunteers, all of whom are registered with the Offaly Volunteer Centre.
“Everything in the hub is being given out free of charge to Ukrainian families, and we have had some volunteers who have come in and spent hours upon hours sorting clothes and other donations to ensure that the hub is as well stocked as possible when we open our doors.”
The Ukrainian Hub also provides baby food and elder persons' care packages, and Deirdre Fox describes the type of service being provided as “soft support” with the issuing of PPS numbers and other State supports being handled by Offaly Local Development, Offaly County Council and the Department of Social Protection.
The next big project for the volunteers who work with Offaly Volunteer Centre and in the Ukrainian Hub is the setting up of a playroom for the children of displaced Ukrainian families in the Central Hotel.
She advises anyone who wishes to make a donation to the Ukrainian refugees to either contact Offaly Volunteer Centre by phone at: 083 0154669 or by e-mail: info@volunteeroffaly.ie to see where the needs are and to itemise what they wish to donate.
“At this stage we have to be very specific about donations, otherwise we could end up with a lot of stuff that is not needed and not enough of what the Ukrainian families actually need,” she points out.
Deirdre describes the goodwill and generosity of the people of Tullamore as “simply incredible” to date for those displaced by the conflict in Ukraine.