An Edinburgh charity established by Hibs fans is set to welcome 50 Ukrainian orphans into the country today.
The Edinburgh-based charity, Dnipro Kids, was formed after Hibs played a UEFA Cup game against the now defunct Dnipro FC in 2005.
Hibs supporters formed the charity after travelling over to Ukraine and being struck by the plight of the orphaned children.
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Now, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues the charity are helping to evacuate 50 children from the country.
Steven Carr, chair of Dnipro Kids, flew to Ukraine a few weeks ago just as the conflict started and began to oversee the evacuation of the children, who are aged between two and 17, to Poland, where they have been staying in a hotel in Poznan.
The home secretary, Priti Patel, pledged her support and announced last Friday that Ukrainian authorities had confirmed the group would be able to continue their journey to the UK.
It is expected that the children will spend their first few weeks in the Scottish countryside.
Speaking to The Guardian, Duncan MacRae, media manager for the charity, said the weekend had been used to finalise paperwork with the British embassy team from Warsaw.
He explained: “It’s a very complex operation and every time you think you have things sorted, something else becomes unsorted.”
The children were enjoying the play area in the hotel, he said, and staff had organised other activities such as ten-pin bowling and watching movies.
The youngsters remain in good spirits, MacRae said, and are finding the international media interest in their journey “funny and a bit bizarre”. Their “house mothers” are understandably more anxious: “I don’t think they’ll relax until we are all on the plane.”
The charity began in 2005, when a group of Hibernian FC fans travelled to Dnipro for a UEFA Cup game and organised a collection for local orphans. Within a year, Dnipro Kids had been officially launched back in Edinburgh, raising £16,000 in donations from supporters.
Stevie was shocked by the poverty that existed on the other side of Europe and when they were over in Dnipro in 2005 he raised a cash collection at the gate, and the charity’s work had started.
The initial collection raised more than £2,000 to pay for everything from winter shoes, clothing and toys for orphaned children at a tuberculosis sanatorium to vital supplies including nappies and hygiene products for a crisis pregnancy centre.
In 2016, links were further strengthened between the club and charity with around 20 children travelling over to take in the 1-1 draw with Dundee United during Hibs Championship-winning campaign.
On visits to the city, the charity attempts to “broaden the horizons” of children in the orphanage by taking them on regular trips to other parts of Ukraine as a way of experiencing different cultures.
Since then, it has also developed into creating ‘leaving packs’ for youngsters departing orphanages for college or university, ensuring they have supplies including bedding and kitchen utensils to help them settle into dorms.
The charity has arranged for Ukrainian-speaking child psychologists and art therapists to be on hand once the group reach their temporary sanctuary, while children in a local primary school in Edinburgh have been making cards explaining how to adapt to life in Scotland.
