The need for a safe house

Following the break-up of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, a new era was born with the independence of the Baltic nations. It was as if the Soviet winter had suppressed the native Latvian culture, but those roots run deep and when the frost melted, the Latvian culture came back to life. Everyone in the country appears so deeply connected to the land here at the deepest level, thriving with a rich culture of dance and song and poetry.

The Ukrainian people share that history and they need our help.

The global community is rallying round and helping where they can, whether it be sending funds to help the war effort or providing for the many families and children that have fled with little more than a bag they can carry with them on the journey.

However, this war and its effects will last for some years as the Ukrainian people slowly take back their land. Even when that job is done, there will be a monumental rebuilding effort. The sad reality is that many mothers and children will have lost their husband and father in the conflict. It will be several years before many will be able to return to their homes, if they are still standing.

Of course, there is the immediate challenge of a warm place to stay and to feed these people who have lost so much, where so much work is understandably focused right now, but there is more that can be done. Wouldn’t it be so much better if we could provide them with somewhere to call home, rather than just a shelter? Somewhere to live and grow and bring up their children, rather than simply to exist and wait for who knows how long?

The Kipeni Safe House has been built for Ukrainian refugees, for the longer term - covering the gap between the immediate emergency aid and the years that will follow for many.

This will be far more than simply temporary rooms for them. This is a safe house, with other similar families, outside space, and our open-ended invitation for these families to stay for as long as they need. Even if the war finishes in the next two years (we can only hope), it will likely take much longer before the country and infrastructure is back to some normality and families will feel safe to return to their more normal lives. We will not ask them to leave. Some may choose to settle here permanently, and our commitment is to support that.

The history of the Safe House

The house was very sad and abandoned

What the house will be

The building of a Safe House 

We then strengthened the foundations

Fitting out the Safe House