Problems with childcare and inflexible working hours prevent Ukrainian women from finding work as they try to rebuild their lives in Britain. Ukrainian refugees told the Observer that they were shocked to find out the cost and inaccessibility of childcare and the provision of extracurricular services and that they were struggling to navigate the system.
For many, the problem is exacerbated by language problems – which means they do not have access to better paid jobs, even if they are highly qualified.
As childcare is unbearable for many, Anya Abdullah, a trustee of the charity Families4Peace, which helps newly arrived Ukrainians in north London, said mothers find it difficult to find a job that fits the lessons. Abdullah is trying to get childcare providers to offer free or cheap places for Ukrainian children. In the long run, she said, state aid is needed for the “thousands” of women she believes will be affected.
According to the Home for Ukraine scheme, refugees are theoretically guaranteed free accommodation for six months, but many worry that they do not have a job and enough money saved when they have to rent for themselves.
“So, the opportunity to be hired is a security you can offer your child in the future when you have to pay the rent,” Abdullah said. If they can’t, she added, some may be forced to return to Ukraine, even if the war continues.
When she tried to help a beautician get free care for her two-year-old son so she could work, she was told there was nothing until September. Another Ukrainian mother, 42-year-old Victoria Shcherbina, has been living in a temporary apartment for seven weeks in a village in Ukraine near the Hungarian border with her seven-year-old daughter, Sofia. They are waiting for their visas to be approved for the United Kingdom while her husband stays in Kyiv. Although she hosts Homes for Ukraine and has a sales job set up in London, she is becoming increasingly concerned about childcare.
She hoped that Sofia would be able to visit a summer camp during the holidays at a relatively low price, as in Ukraine before the war. But after talking to Ukrainian mothers based in the United Kingdom, she realized that this would be impossible and would end too early in the day. “I got a lot of messages like, ‘This is the reality, you’re getting used to it,'” she said. She is also concerned about after-school care. Although she feels scared and powerless, she tries to make the process as stress-free as possible for Sofia, who she says “saw enough” by presenting their move as an adventure.
“I can’t do much. I just have to adapt somehow and I only have one thought in my mind: that nothing is impossible for me, that I have to deal with everything and find solutions, because otherwise it won’t work. “
Through tears, she said at first that she did not want to leave her husband and Ukraine, but that she should, for the future of her children. Her son Danilo, 19, is at the University of Manchester, so at least they will keep part of their family together.
Katerina Chernyaeva, 43, arrived in London from Kyiv only last week with her 12-year-old son Dima, and is now trying to find a school for him that will also run after-school clubs to fit her job. In Ukraine, she works as a director of human resources and hopes to find work in the UK, but, she said, “at the same time, I need to know that my child, [for] he will be safe all day. “
“I left my whole life and my family in Kyiv. “It’s very difficult to realize that everything has changed,” she said. But she is determined to arrange their new life in London. “I’m trying to adapt to a new life and I understand that I have to start from scratch. I’m ready because I’m a strong person and if I believe in myself, I’ll be fine. But at the same time, I really want to see my parents, my husband, my brother. ”
NGOs, meanwhile, said the obstacles faced by Ukrainian refugees – mainly women and children fleeing the Russian invasion alone as the sole breadwinner, while most men have to stay in the country – underscore existing systemic problems in providing childcare. all families across the country. United Kingdom. They also accused the government of relying too heavily on the volunteer sector to help newly arrived Ukrainians, and called for more funding to help charities and organizations trying to fill the gaps.
Irina Terletsky, head of the Association of Ukrainian Women in the UK, said the difficulties Ukrainians face “largely highlight some of the systemic problems that exist for childcare and children’s activities – not just younger children. but also for older children and teenagers. “
The Association of Local Self-Government said access to quality childcare was vital and called on the government to significantly increase funding.
A government spokesman said: “All children and young people living in the UK have the right to access education and care for children, including those from Ukraine, and ministers are clear that supporting families is a priority.
“We have invested more than £ 3.5 billion in each of the last three years to provide free parenting offers, and we are working across the government to find more ways to improve the price, choice and availability of places to look after of children. We have also legalized the right to flexible working and shared parental leave and pay to support better eligible parents. “
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