Ukrainian refugees bought a home by pensioner host

Oksana fled her home in Ukraine with her daughters Lena and Yara two years ago

A pensioner has bought the Ukrainian family she hosted a home because it felt like the "obvious" thing to do.

Janie Penn-Barwell from Eastleigh was one of thousands across the UK to get involved in a scheme housing displaced families after the Russian invasion.

Ms Penn-Barwell hosted Oksana and her two daughters, Lena and Yara, for 18 months and has since bought a home for them to live in.

Oksana said she felt like she could stop running after receiving the keys.

From left to right: Yara, Oksana and Lena have recently celebrated two years of being settled in the UK

Oksana said: "It's wonderful, I had a feeling that I was running, running, running and finally I have stopped. I just relax and let them [her daughters] do what they want and have their dreams come true.

"I try to work as much as I can, try to take more hours and try to be useful."

Janie Penn-Barwell said buying the house felt like the "obvious" thing to do for Oksana

Ms Penn-Barwell got a mortgage to purchase the property, which she now rents out to Oksana and acts as landlady, she said she is "really proud" of how they have settled in.

She said: "It wasn't so much that we were too crowded and fighting or anything like that, absolutely not, but it seemed sensible that they needed a home of their own.

"I guess it seemed obvious because there wasn't anywhere else to rent and I thought if you can do it, you should do it - so I could, so I did."

Ms Penn-Barwell added: "I'm not a wildly wealthy woman, far from it, I have an NHS pension but you know, if you don't need things, why not do something useful?"

Yara said it was "wonderful" to have her own bedroom to decorate how she wanted

Oksana and her daughters have been living in their new home for six months now and Lena and Yara are studying for their GCSEs and A Levels.

Yara, 15, said: "It's wonderful, I really like that I have my own bedroom and I can decorate it myself how I want. It feels more free I would say."

Lena, 18, added: "I do like that me and my sister have separate bedrooms because now I can keep my room neat and tidy and I really like living close to Janie still. Having a home of our own where we can speak Ukrainian together, it's very nice."

Lena said it felt "very nice" to have a home where she could speak Ukrainian with her mum and sister

Yara and Lena said Ms Penn-Barwell has become part of their family and they now fondly refer to her as "Granny."

Oksana added: "She's definitely a member of our family. I don't see her as much as I'd like now, I miss her, she really can make my day better.

"I feel that my heart belongs to my Ukrainian house, but I'm happy in any house where my children are happy."

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