Ukrainian who fled to Ireland makes shoebox appeal

A student who fled to Ireland at the outbreak of the war in Ukraine has asked Irish people to deliver a "gift of hope" to children who have not been able to escape his war-torn country.

Maks Hudyma was 18 when he was forced to flee from Russian aggression in Kyiv, being "exiled" in Ireland and leaving his mother Oksana behind.

He said some of his school friends, who could not leave, have been killed fighting Russian forces as he recalled a "night of terror led to a heartbreaking decision" when his mother decided he would travel to Ireland alone.

"I remember that night so vividly," he said.

"I woke up at 5am and heard a very loud bang. I looked out from my bedroom window and I thought to myself, 'what's going on here?’.

"Then I saw and heard loud explosions, fire and smoke. We were living across from a forest where there was a military base."

He added: "I got so scared and it really freaked me out. I started to crawl across the room and started shaking. I panicked and felt very fragile and couldn’t control my feelings.

"People had been saying that we were living in Europe in the 21st century and that no-one would want to start a war."

The night of terror led to a heartbreaking decision by Oksana and Mr Hudyma that he should travel to Ireland alone to escape the war.

Four years later, he is settled in Rathdrum, Co Wicklow, and is a third-year pharmaceutical student in Tallaght TU in Dublin.

The now 22-year-old said he wants to help children who did not have the opportunity to leave Ukraine.

He recalled the joy he felt as a 12-year-old child when he received a charity Christmas shoebox, filled with gifts from strangers, and is now urging Irish people to back an effort to get thousands of these boxes to Ukrainian children as war continues to rage.

"I remember getting one shoebox. It had sweets, school supplies, pencils, toothpaste and notebooks, which were all very handy," he recalled.

"It made me feel very special. I was getting these gifts from people that didn’t even know me," he said.

Ukraine is one of 13 countries in eastern Europe and Africa that the charity Team Hope is aiming to deliver 200,000 Irish shoeboxes to before Christmas.

Last year it delivered its three-millionth gift to children affected by poverty.

Mr Hudyma said he is planning to send a shoebox with table tennis bats and ping pong balls.

Team Hope advises people taking part to send toys, stationery and clothes, and said they can be handed in at 400 drop-off points nationwide, or at any Mr Price outlet in Ireland, between 1and 10 November.

Alternatively, people can donate €25 for a box to be made up right up until Christmas Eve on their website.

Team Hope chief executive officer Deborah Lowry appealed to schools, businesses and community organisations to join the campaign.

"What makes Maks’s story so special is that he knows exactly what it feels like to receive a shoebox from someone you’ve never met," she said.

"Years later, he’s now in Ireland preparing a gift for another child in Ukraine. It’s a wonderful reminder that a simple act of kindness can stay with someone for a lifetime.

"The simple joy it brings to children who might otherwise get nothing cannot be measured," Ms Lowry said.