Arrival

As soon as you know your guests' arrival dates, please contact the local authorities. For West Sussex, email communities@westsussex.gov.uk or call 0330 222 7980.

Then, as soon as they arrive, call them again.

This page contains information about what you should do to prepare for your guests' arrival. More detail can be found about how to help your guests settle here can be found on our Day Two page.

Please see also our Cultural Differences page, which may help you avoid conflict.

Receiving your guests will be a most heart warming, but also heart breaking time: there will be much laughter, but also tears. They are happy to be here—safe—but also sad and perhaps even guilty, having left their families and pets behind. Husbands and fathers are missed dearly.

Be prepared to take on pastoral responsibilities for your guests, which may require all the patience, forbearance, and grace you can muster. Their needs will be varied: they might need to off-load or to be left alone. The toll on children has been incredible: after years of COVID lockdowns and restrictions, now this, and they may act out in all sorts of ways. This will in turn take a toll on their mothers.

Here, we have some practical advice for you. But we also offer pastoral support: contact 07799271913 to speak to our de facto chaplain.

At the Airport

  • We strongly recommend that you pick up your guests at the airport.

  • Your guests will be asked for your details, so please make sure they have them (esp. name, phone number, address). We advise that they have it in hard copy, in case their phones run out of battery etc.

  • Please make sure that your guests can identify you (e.g., bring a sign, with their names on it!)

  • Please do not expect your guests to be chatty or bubbly: of course they are grateful, but do not expect them to express it in the usual way. They might be traumatised, and will certainly be exhausted.


Our local support groups across West Sussex will enable you to get in touch with other hosts/sponsors living nearby: this will in turn enable you to plan social gatherings for your guests with other fellow Ukrainians if this is what they would like.

To join one of these groups, please contact 07799271913 on WhatsApp.

At Home

  • Upon arrival, your guests are likely to be tired. They might want to do quite little, and to sleep a lot.

  • Here are some items that you might want to prepare for your guests beforehand:

    • Power adaptors: Ukraine mainly uses the standard European (Type C) plugs.

    • UK toilet powerplugs may not be suitable for Ukrainian razors/hairdryers etc. 13 amp adaptors for these should do the trick

    • Toiletries: toothbrush/toothpaste, soap/shampoo, shaving equipment, deodorant, tampons etc. It is worth remembering that they—like us—may have personal preferences about these.

    • NB: Speaking of toilets, sewage works differently in the UK than in Ukraine. Most importantly, basically nothing is flushed down the toilet except waste, not even toilet paper. You should explain this difference to your guests.

    • Extra blankets, as Ukrainians tend to heat their homes more than we do here.

    • Dressing gown and slippers, for the same reason.

    • Iron and ironing board

    • Wellies, to enjoy our local natural beauty

    • Nappies, wet wipes etc., if applicable

    • Picture frames for their family photos

    • Cash — do contact us at 07799271913 if you need help with this

  • You may want to consider creating an Amazon or John Lewis (etc.) Wish List, so that your friends and family can contribute to welcoming your guests. People who are unable to host are often more than willing to help in other ways.

  • Finally, there has been positive feedback about having signs of solidarity— Ukrainian flags, etc.—in the home. It is difficult to know what to say about the war, so this can be a good unspoken way to express our solidarity.

  • Some of us live in areas where RAF Chinook helicopters regularly fly. It is worth warning your guests about this. We have had experience of guests—especially children—being afraid of helicopter sounds.

  • You should make a Welcome Pack, that includes:

    • An introduction to your local area, including about the culture in the UK, public transport in your area, e.g., about social attitudes, attitudes about children and childcare, seatbelt laws

    • House "Rules", so your guests don't have to remember everything you tell them. Your "rules"—and we don't mean for this to be officious, of course—is a way to set expectations, and might contain such information as:

      • your household routine (e.g., when you're in/out/working; typical wake up/bed times; how cleaning/tidying/washing up works—on which note, remember that you are not one another's cleaners!)

      • your expectations re: boundaries (e.g., whether any rooms are out of bounds at particular times; what is/isn't shared; whether guests are allowed; whether romantic guests are allowed)

      • how you treat your pets (e.g., what they are allowed to do/eat)

      • how waste disposal works (e.g., waste, recycling, composting)

      • [NB: You may have to go through these in a few days/weeks time, as your guests settle. Day One is clearly the wrong day to spend too much time on house rules. But you do want to begin as you intend to continue: you will have to discern the appropriate time for this conversation. Having said that, the situation may evolve, and it's worth checking in occasionally.]


Remember, this is the beginning. Your guests have now arrived, and they will have to rebuild their lives, even if they intend to return to Ukraine as soon as possible. The hard work of helping them settle her now begins.