Kind-hearted Dalry man opens up his home to Ukrainian refugees

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A Dalry man is opening his four-bedroom home to Ukrainian refugees following the sad loss of his wife in January.Paul Goodwin will take in a mother and her two sons from Kharkiv once their visas are finally approved.He’s updated electrics, bought new bunk beds, a tumble drier, a freezer – and a smart TV with Ukrainian news channels.Paul, 68, is looking forward to welcoming his guests – who are currently stuck in Poland.He told the News: “The mother’s a city dweller in her 30s and a primary school teacher with two boys aged 10 and six.“They have been living on a Polish farm since they left Kharkiv in late March.

I have done a fairly substantial upgrading of the house and am making three rooms available for their sole use.“It’s the least I can do – and it’s given me a prompt to get things done around the house.”He added: “My wife Betty died in January – it would have been our Golden wedding this year on September 30.“I have a big empty house now and I need a project – I have always liked helping people.”The refugees have yet to receive visas from the UK Government – a process Paul believes is overly bureaucratic.He said: “I don’t understand why it takes so long to get women and children to a place of safety.“There’s beds made up here for them, somewhere warm and safe and a school place ready for the kids.“I don’t understand why it takes weeks and weeks.“We have to wait until all three visas are issued – and it’s zero out of three at the minute.”Paul added: “It’s quite concerning, the conditions they are living in without the support of her husband or other family members.“She’s holding down two jobs – one to pay the farmer and the other to earn money for food.“They’ve already travelled eight hours to the UK Government visa