Blanket giving was such a wonderful thing. Honestly your love shone from the blankets.
These children today were younger than the ones we have been with on their respite break. And they loved choosing. Again some had an immediate connection with a blanket, others took an age. And each were lovely to see!
Again, not every blanket and child are shown, because in some cases it wasn’t right to push for a photo. So please celebrate each one. These children have very little. They are just like our own childrenLeaving the country would have been a very immediate process, with limited options to take stuff.
Love in every stitch we say. Always true.
And once the children had their blanket it was party lunch time. This was joyfully riotous! And something rather special happened. Lots of the kids gave their blankets to their mums to look after. And those mums all wrapped themselves up. These mums are young, isolated, away from home and worried for the men in their lives.
Have a look.
Wonderful pics aren’t they? These people have nothing. Our blankets gave love and joy at every turn. Thank you all so much for making this happen. It’s a truly astonishing thing.
Then it was time to party! games, dancing, confetti. Even a 6ft 4 Glaswegian elf arrived!
We were treated to a farewell concert on our last night. With songs and dances, this was truly beautiful. The children beautifully sang their hearts out on a Ukrainian folk song called Marigolds. Marigolds are resilient and grow even when you think they’ve gone, they grow back. Beautiful, haunting, poignant.
Saying goodbye ‘for now’ was incredibly tough. They ask that when they win the war that we visit them in Ukraine. Of course we will. Let’s all pray that this is sooner rather than later.
