Volodymyr and his family have fled Kherson at the onset of the war in a convoy with other locals seeking safety.

Their convoy passed through occupied Ukraine, with Russian checkpoints everywhere.  The area was under bombardment, the roads they were told were passable were not and the lead car had to constantly communicate route changes to the convey using any available network.  After many hours they passed a Ukrainian checkpoint and found themselves in relative safety.

They drove to the Eastern side of the country to a town called Chernivtsi where they had rented a flat. Volodymyr tried to run his businesses from there, but the internet was unstable. Volodymyr’s sister, Luda, who lived in the UK, had been urging her brother to bring his family there and while Chernivtsi was safer than Kherson, every day carried more risks.  The decision to move became straightforward. It was only by using the limited connectivity that Volodymyr was able to make the arrangements to exit Ukraine.

The family were driven by a friend to the border town of Sirat, where 6 months earlier the unconnected.org team were supporting the refugees with free SIM cards, phone chargers and connecting the local train station. It is critical for refugees to keep their phones working and plan their onward journeys. It took Volodymyr and his family 8 hours to cross the border, they were able to keep connectivity long enough to book flights from Suchavia to Luton, arriving late at night in the UK with 3 very tired children.

Follow us and read the next blog post in the series to learn what happened when the family arrived in England.