Jamie Hughes took action after finding it was "absolutely devastating watching millions of people fleeing -- the bombs going off."
When Jamie Hughes from Wrexham, Wales, saw news footage of what was going on in Ukraine, he was compelled to help. At first he contemplated renovating his house to welcome a family, but the length of the work and the lack of privacy led him to go even further.
Hughes decided instead to buy a house to offer shelter to a refugee family.
He then went on social media to share his desire to help sponsor refugees and was introduced to woman named Renatta who has already found homes for 53 refugees.
Hughes was matched with a mom, Maria, and her three boys, aged 10,12, and 14, who fled Ukraine when "bombs started going off 10 miles from her house."
Maria "couldn't believe it" when he offered to help, and when he offered to send money to her help flee her war-torn country, she told him that he'd "done enough," as the BBC reported.
The family, who is navigating their way through western Ukraine to reach Poland and have help from a refugee camp to organize all the paperwork, is hoping to move in to the three-bedroom property as soon as their visas have been organized.
The community gets involved
But in the meantime, the whole Wrexham community is pitching in to make sure the family's home has everything they need -- and a lot more!
Julie Simkins, a friend of Hughes, has been busy gathering the essentials in the community, sharing that locals "have been rallying round to help with donations and are ready to embrace her and the boys," adding, "we're pretty much good to go with furnishing the entire house now."
However, while the family's basic needs will be met, the community will also be supporting Maria find work, as the former anesthetist in a Ukrainian hospital will be given an intensive English course, and will be put in touch with the local hospital where she will hopefully find a position.
And to top it off, the community is also ensuring their new neighbors will really feel at home by getting the local soccer team Wrexham FC involved. The three boys are apparently big soccer fans and the club has shared that they will "make a fuss of them, kit them out -- make them feel welcome and a part of the community."
It is so inspiring to see how one man's efforts have not only found a solution for a displaced family, but also encouraged others to join in and bring a community together.
