A Scots man heartbroken by the insufferable ache of a Ukrainian refugee is hoping to lift money for her household after assembly her throughout a vacation to Krakow.
Hairdresser Damien Parrish met Tetiana Kuznietsova, 30, final month after she fled from Ukraine together with her three-year-old daughter Zlata.
The 39-year-old, from Dunfermline, was instantly struck by how a lot ache was in her eyes as he learnt of her despair.
Throughout the journey with 5 of his buddies on March 18, Damien stored in contact with Tetiana and gave her the cash he had left earlier than flying residence.
However after arriving again in Scotland he could not cease fascinated about the household and knew he wanted to do extra, so he launched a fundraiser.
Damien instructed the Report: "I had a number of beers and I am fairly a social individual. I went to the store to get cigarettes and I ran into her - I simply began chatting to her.
"She defined she had fled Ukraine and he or she was immediately getting emotional. It struck a chord with me as a result of I had by no means seen anybody look so unhappy.
"I used to be protecting updated with the warfare earlier than I went and watching everybody fleeing on TV however to see it in individual you see how emotionally distraught they're.
"I added her on Instagram and we stored chatting throughout the weekend.
"On the Sunday morning earlier than I left, I provided her the cash I had left however she refused and he or she instructed me to present it to the Ukrainian military.
"I instructed her I did not have sufficient to assist them however what I had left would assist her. Once I gave her the cash she began crying.
"Once I got here residence I assumed what can I do to assist? I've by no means by no means fundraised earlier than however I've by no means met anybody that regarded like they wanted assist a lot in my life."
Damien retains in common contact with Tetiana on social media and has thus far raised over £900 of the £2,000 goal.
She has now been sponsored by a household in Surrey and is making use of for a visa to return to the UK.
Earlier than the warfare Tetiana was working as a photographer and had just lately been to Dubai on a photoshoot.
The residence block she fled from has now been destroyed as 'in a single second her life fell aside'.
Writing a submit for the Go Fund Me web page, Tetiana mentioned: "Below the adrenaline increase I put garments on my sleeping daughter, took paperwork, some meals for my daughter for someday, took my digicam and laptop computer.
"These have been accompanied by calls to all my members of the family. All of us agreed to satisfy in Zhytomyr oblast in a single home within the occasion if the community can be misplaced.
"It took us a day to make a distance of 100 km.
"Everybody was attempting to get to a secure place. However no person knew that it wasn’t secure wherever anymore."
She added: "I spent every week with my household in that village. Some bombs fell in my city, destroyed the airport, maternity hospital, the varsity of my nephew, the civil folks’s homes."
After a 24-hour journey, Tetiana managed to flee to Poland together with her daughter, sister and nephew however the emotional trauma remains to be insufferable.
She mentioned: "We nonetheless are afraid of loud sounds. We all the time lookup after we hear a airplane or helicopter flying within the sky in worry that it is perhaps a hazard prefer it was again in Ukraine.
"We live now with the 'survivor guilt' syndrome. We really feel secure right here in Poland however there isn't any probability now to be pleased and get any pleasure of the sunshine, scorching espresso and an on a regular basis chance to have contemporary meals and take bathe.
"As a result of our dad and mom are nonetheless at risk in Ukraine."
Damien hopes the cash raised will be capable of pay for Tetiana and Zlata's flights to the UK with additional money serving to them with day-to-day residing prices.
Donations to the fundraiser could be made by clicking right here.
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