An old convent in regional NSW could soon become a home for refugees fleeing war-torn Ukraine.
Pip Waters is helping to raise funds to transform the old building in Molong, NSW, into a liveable, seven-bedroom house.
“It’s in a beautiful location between St Lawrence Church and St Joseph’s Primary School in Molong,” Ms Waters told Hope 103.2
“It would be a quick walk to the village and (you can) catch a bus to Orange, it’s not too far from Orange.”
The idea to use the building came from Father Greg, parish priest of St Joseph, Ms Waters said.
“He has been fabulous… he has been wanting to do something with it that helps with social justice.”
Ukrainian refugees: Dmytro Bushuyev, his wife Vika, and children Vladyslava, 13, Myroslav, 7
Source: Supplied
“Our own version of The Block 2022″
Money is needed for new carpet, heating and a paint job, and building works is also required, such as repair to gyprock.
In what Ms Waters called their “own version of The Block 2022”, the community of Molong will come together to help transform the building after the main works have been completed.
Taking part will be the parishes, sporting clubs and communities across Orange, Molong, Bathurst, Millthorpe, Blayney and Carcoar.
“Everyone just chooses one room and transforms that room… and we’ve got an inventory of everything that we want in each room and that would be set up for a family,” Ms Waters said.
“The competition will be a bit of fun to make sure that people push themselves to deliver something beautiful and fun.
“(And it was so) we weren’t going to be given hundreds of donations of things that we didn’t necessarily need.”
She is hoping to get the bishop or the mayor of Molong to help judge the competition.
“I think (the building) could become a perfect place long term for a couple of families, where it will reduce stress and give some time for people to find their ground,” – Olha Lyeskakova, Sydney fundraiser
Building a legacy
Looking forward, Ms Waters is hoping the building will become a place for future refugees.
“Maybe we get these guys set up and they move on and build their own lives and then we’re just always using it for this type of refugee program,” she said.
“We’re not sure what will be next but definitely keeping the legacy of the St Josephite sisters, which was ‘never see a need without doing something about it’, that’s a beautiful quote.”
However, Ms Waters said none of this work would be possible without the help of Olha Lyeskakova, who has been helping to raise awareness of the fundraiser in Sydney and supplying the workforce.
“I think (the building) could become a perfect place long term for a couple of families, where it will reduce stress and give some time for people to find their ground,” Ms Lyeskakova told Hope 103.2.
“(It will help them) understand where they are when they want and so on, (to) just take a breath without the pressure and stress of paying rent.”
“They cannot return to their cities and homes, so there’s nothing for them to go back to and therefore we need to help transform their lives,” – Pip Waters, Molong fundraiser
Regional areas
Ms Lyeskakova helps displaced Ukrainians find jobs, accommodation and any support they may require, with a particular focus on regional areas.
“Sydney is quite expensive and we see that people are struggling to actually lease something and then pay for that because they have no lease history, no stable work at the moment.”
Community engagement in regional areas also makes it easier for refugees, she said.
“People in the community are very helpful, they want to help… it’s about caring; in Sydney, no one cares and if you go to a regional community, everyone cares.
“They want to make people be safe, stable, comfortable and so on; it’s not about the difference in pricing, but a difference in attitude.”
However, Ms Lyeskakova said Sydneysiders are not to blame for this difference in attitude.
“It’s not something wrong about Sydneysiders because that is how it works; in small communities (there) is always more (awareness) to some personal pain than in big society, big space (and) big city, where everyone is busy.”
Challenges
Stress and uncertainty are common among Ukrainian refugees, but they also face additional challenges when seeking employment.
“Their main challenge is language barrier… they mostly are professionals with degrees and experience but that language barrier doesn’t allow them to work,” Ms Lyeskakova said.
She would like to see employers lifting certain requirements for employment and allowing for special considerations during the job application process.
“Usually our team is at the interviews and helping with interpreting and… helping people to communicate and to reach the agreement.
“But we need more interested employers who would be open to this type of early steps to help Ukrainians to get their (employment) issues solved.”
“Their main challenge is language barrier… they mostly are professionals with degrees and experience but that language barrier doesn’t allow them to work,” – Olha Lyeskakova
Olha’s story
Ms Lyeskakova began this work eight years ago when her own family left Ukraine.
“They were escaping Ukraine in the very beginning of the war… we decided that it will be (the) safest solution because it was when everything just started, we just didn’t wait for the explosion,” she said.
“And then I started to help (my family) and other people and suddenly I became the first one who was contacted by all coming refugees in NSW.
“And then we expanded and expanded more to accommodation, visa support, advice, schools, education and employment.”
Her family chose Australia because of its long distance from Russia.
Ms Waters would like to see more Australians helping Ukrainian refugees because “there’s no going back”.
“They cannot return to their cities and homes, so there’s nothing for them to go back to and therefore we need to help transform their lives.”
“They cannot return to their cities and homes, so there’s nothing for them to go back to and therefore we need to help transform their lives,” – Pip Waters