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Ukraine may be over 14,000 kilometers away, but the pain of those fighting the war is felt in the hearts of many across Australia. Forced to shine some light on the life of someone who continues to endure some of Ukraine’s darkest days, Sara Beckinsale, from Mudgee in west central New South Wales, has armed herself with knowledge that will lead on the way to direct help to a Ukrainian family. The local mother booked a two-night Airbnb stay for $70 with a Ukrainian family of four in Odessa, whose father figure continues to serve since taking up arms in the early days of the war despite having no prior experience . Although her contribution may seem insignificant to Australian ears, Ms Beckinsale believed the gesture would offer more than money. “I wanted to help someone, I didn’t want to help an organization. These families are running for their lives, they may never see their loved ones again,” she said. “I kept talking with my friends about the horror of what was happening and thinking ‘what can I do? “. There aren’t many ways I can help as a person in Australia, but if I can lend a little support, then why not? “Seventy dollars isn’t a lot and that may not last long, but if it helps, it helps. She [Airbnb host] was so grateful that we cared enough to do something and she didn’t feel alone.” The ‘invaluable’ support of Ms Beckinsale and her sister, who booked the same holiday, gave the family a certain ease amid growing concern for the service of her husband’s well-being. “I’m very worried about him,” the Ukrainian host said. “We have two children. At night we sometimes hear explosions in the sea. When the alarms are on, we sit in the hallway on the floor because we have the strongest walls there. “My son sleeps at night with a pillow he believes it can save him from a bomb and if he loses it at night he starts crying. We are trying to keep the peace and believe this will end very soon .I want my husband back to live and stay healthy. “We’re not going anywhere, we decided that at home it would be easier to deal with this and for our children it would be less stressful.” As a parent, Ms Beckinsale felt all the more emotional when the host of her booking revealed that “my greatest wish now is that our children don’t know what war is”. and I lost a child, so I understand the loss in a way,” Ms Beckinsale said. “The biggest thing she said that made me cry was ‘your support is priceless.’ Everything what i can ask now is that my children don’t know about war”. i was in tears. “i saw something about a boy n who had to leave her mother behind, so she wrote the family name and phone number on her hand. How do you overcome something like this? It’s something these kids will have to deal with for the rest of their lives. No amount of money, moving or running will take that away from them.” IN OTHER NEWS: With scammers taking advantage of the world’s bounty, Ms Beckinsale has offered advice to fellow Aussies in the hope of providing financial support to a Ukrainian through Airbnb. “Be thorough. Make sure it’s someone who joined earlier, make sure people are genuine by researching reviews, checking the price, and that the place looks legit. Message the host and ask questions before you book if you are concerned or worried. “Book the first available nights so people can get the money right away.” For me, it went from a picture of a woman and an apartment to “it’s a family, it’s is someone with children and someone who appreciates it”. For me, it was relief, gratitude and joy that I had found someone who could appreciate it.” The name of the Ukrainian Airbnb host quoted in this story has not been disclosed for security reasons.
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Ukraine may be over 14,000 kilometers away, but the pain of those fighting the war is felt in the hearts of many across Australia.
Forced to shine some light on the life of someone who continues to endure some of Ukraine’s darkest days, Sara Beckinsale, from Mudgee in west central New South Wales, has armed herself with knowledge that will lead on the way to direct help to a Ukrainian family.
The local mother booked a two-night Airbnb stay for $70 with a Ukrainian family of four in Odessa, whose father figure continues to serve since taking up arms in the early days of the war despite having no prior experience .
Although her contribution may seem insignificant to Australian ears, Ms Beckinsale believed the gesture would offer more than money.
“I wanted to help someone, I didn’t want to help an organization. These families are running for their lives, they may never see their loved ones again,” she said.
“I kept talking with my friends about the horror of what was happening and thinking ‘what can I do? “. There aren’t many ways I can help as a person in Australia, but if I can provide some support then why not?
“Seventy dollars isn’t a lot and it might not last long, but if it helps, it helps. She [Airbnb host] was so grateful that we cared enough to do something about it and she didn’t feel alone.”
The “invaluable” support from Ms Beckinsale and her sister, who booked the same holiday, brought relief to the family amid growing concerns over the welfare of the serving husband.
“I’m very worried about him,” said the Ukrainian host.
“We have two children. At night we sometimes hear explosions in the sea. When the alarms go off, we sit in the hallway on the floor because we have the strongest walls there.
“My son sleeps at night with a pillow he believes it can save him from a bomb and if he loses it at night he starts crying. We are trying to keep the peace and believe this will end very soon I want my husband to come back to live and stay healthy.
“We are not going anywhere, we have decided that at home it will be easier to manage this and for our children, it will be less stressful.”
I try to occupy them at all times, we are afraid to go out because the threat of air strikes remains.
Ukrainian Airbnb host
As a parent, Ms Beckinsale felt all the more emotional when the host of her booking revealed that ‘my greatest wish now is that our children don’t know what war is’.
“I have two children and I lost one child, so I understand the loss in a way,” Ms Beckinsale said.
“The biggest thing she said that made me cry was ‘your support is priceless. All I can ask now is that my children don’t experience war.” I was in tears.
“I saw something about a boy who had to leave his mother behind, so she wrote the family name and phone number on her hand. How do you get over something like that? It’s something these kids will have to deal with for the rest of their lives. No amount of money, moving or running around will take that away from them.”
With scammers taking advantage of the world’s generosity, Ms Beckinsale offered advice to fellow Australians in the hope of providing financial support to a Ukrainian through Airbnb.
“Be thorough. Make sure it’s someone who joined earlier, make sure people are genuine by researching reviews, checking the price, and that the place looks legit. Message ‘host and ask questions before you book if you are concerned or concerned.
If you can find someone and feel safe, your support would be invaluable.
Mudgee resident, Sara Beckinsale
“Book the first available nights so people can get the money right away.
“For me it went from being a picture of a woman and an apartment to ‘this is a family, this is someone with kids and someone who appreciates it’. For me , it was relief, gratitude and joy that I had found someone who could appreciate him.”
The name of the Ukrainian Airbnb host cited in this story has not been released for security reasons.
