Cork woman: We all have a role to play in ongoing Ukrainian humanitarian crisis

WE need to get our heads and hearts around the hard fact that the ongoing Ukrainian humanitarian crisis requires a wartime attitude and an army of hosts to step in and support Ukraine’s displaced people.

That’s according to Cork woman Karen O’Donohoe, who said: “This is not something we have the luxury of opting out of - this humanitarian crisis requires everyone to do what they can, when they can, and we all have a role to play.”

With the conflict nearly in its 18th month, and thousands of people still having to flee their homes, the need for host families is as great now as it was at the very start, she said.

Karen will be known to many as the co-producer and presenter of RTÉ’s hugely popular series, GrowCookEat, that ran for three seasons. She is also one of the founders of ‘Communities for Ukraine’, a not-for-profit, grassroots network of volunteers dedicated to helping Ukrainians transfer, settle and integrate into Irish communities.

With her husband and four children, hosting those displaced by the war has become their new norm, with a family living with them in their farmhouse in Ladysbridge, East Cork; in her husband’s Dublin property, and in their Waterford cottage; while her mum who lives nearby is in the process of being matched through Helping Irish Hosts.

“If people really understood the harsh reality of the situation, I know they would find some way to host, or if that’s not an option then, at the very least, they would try and help a host,” Karen said, with her trademark zeal and passion.

She acknowledges that many people are overwhelmed by the ongoing cost-of-living and housing crises and admits to often being overwhelmed herself: “But that overwhelm and worry shouldn’t paralyse us - there is always a solution and if we all took positive action, we would have a significant impact.”

Karen is a leading figure in the country’s Grow It Yourself (GIY) movement, and before the war erupted, herself and husband Paul were hoping to embark on an ‘Escape to the Chateau’ style project.

“We wanted to make a reality TV programme anchored around the renovation of our farmhouse and buildings, to showcase the social, economic and environmental potential of rural Ireland and the incredible beauty of our natural landscape, whilst highlighting the very real but fixable challenges that come with rural living caused by a lack of infrastructure, investment and respect for rural communities,” she said.

“But also to have the craic and lots of conversations with real people living their best or worst lives in rural Ireland. Paul is a hardcore Dub so there was going to be some fun at his culture shock!” Karen added. "Then the war started and all that went on hold."

Like so many others, we watched on in horror and disbelief as we saw hundreds of thousands of women and children leaving everything they loved and knew behind. The shock, loss and devastation on their faces will stay with me for a very long time. 

"There was no big chat needed, it was obvious to us as a family that we needed to step in and offer whatever help we could,” said Karen.

But very quickly, she said, it became apparent that there were huge numbers seeking refuge here, and a serious lack of accommodation.

‘Communities for Ukraine’ was founded, which has a multi-prong objective, namely to identify hosts and host communities, and generate funding to help them.

“Lots of people were coming forward with space in their hearts and their homes, but without financial support it was very hard to realise the offers of help. The incredible, and very Irish, heartfelt response needed to be supported with practical resources, otherwise the very best of intentions were never going to be realised.

“So, through a GoFundMe page, we raised funding to help Irish and Ukrainian people take action, and paid for grocery shops, clothes, toiletries, medication, transport costs, heating costs, laptops, school uniforms, etc. as people were arriving in to Irish homes with very little or nothing at all.”

With a career in community and partnership development, Karen’s ‘day job’ is Innovations Lead at ChangeX, a not for profit organisation that connects communities across the world to proven ideas and funding, essentially to build more sustainable communities and ensure they have the resources needed to take action on whatever social, economic and environmental challenges they have identified.

Through her work, she generated €150,000 for the Community Response Fund, supported by Communities for Ukraine, but primarily with donations from Deloitte and AWS. Groups could apply (and are still applying) for sums up to €5,000, with the average grant awarded being €2,500. Money is being used for a wide array of items and projects, from period products to murals, sports days for children to English classes, and with it, she said, people are also ‘creating community magic.’

Hosting Ukrainians has been both a sobering and an amazing experience, Karen added.

There have been so many times we’ve sat at the kitchen table late at night and early in the morning, filled with the collective worry of being unable to contact a family member in Russian- occupied territory for days; but there’s also been lots of shared joy at first days of school, birthdays, new jobs, etc.

Karen is mum to a 13 and 10-year-old and stepmum to 22-year-old twins, and the family has four dogs and two cats so their house was already a busy one: “But the kids are brilliant and when it came to sharing their home, they were in full agreement. They also had to share Paul and I, and there were times when we didn’t get the balance between our family life and our Ukrainian family life right, but we’re learning how to do better.

“But, really, my frustration is not at my guests, who I think of as family, because their questions are always reasonable - it’s at the answers because they highlight all the problems in Ireland today. The lack of housing, public transport, doctors, dentists, the excessive cost of living, medical care, etc. Each conversation highlights the failings of various stakeholders to provide quality and affordable services to the people that live, learn and work here. Our system is so very broken - be it food, education, health, or politics, and much, much needs to be done to make Ireland the country it deserves to be.”

Karen is critical of the government’s response to refugees and feels from the beginning there was a lack of leadership, collaboration and innovation - decisions were too slow, rarely realistically ambitious enough ,and not properly resourced, she said.

“The need for brave and bold action is now, not just with the Ukrainian crisis but with the housing, climate, biodiversity and obesity crises. How can Ireland, with all its resources, run so ineffectively? We should be thriving, yet in 2023 fat cats get fatter whilst children go to school hungry, puppy farms profit when animal sanctuaries are at a loss how to provide for the abused, neglected and abandoned animals across the country. Our brand image is at total odds with the littered beaches, seas, woods and roadsides across the country. Government calls for urgent action to address the climate and biodiversity emergencies, but goes at a snail’s pace to follow though. Enough.

“We need to realise that everyone can take action and make a change. Sitting around talking about the problem is a waste of time and energy - actively living in the solution and doing the best you can, when you can, is the way forward, because everyone can do something.”

Karen said that “the amount of time and money wasted on short term plans instead of bold, innovative, and where necessary disruptive, long term strategies sickens me”.

So too does the inequality around commercial accommodation contracts and the Accommodation Recognition Payment available to hosts.

Hosts put people first, and are led by their heads and hearts, but they have to manage the very real impact of hosting on their pockets too.

The government’s Accommodation Recognition Payment is €800 per month per postcode, which she says is unlikely to cover the actual cost of multiple households in a single house.

“Neither does it reflect the social impact a host is having in helping people integrate.”

Karen highlighted how every one of their Ukrainian friends is either working, at school (both here and online to keep up their Ukrainian studies) or looking after their young children, they’re learning English, shopping locally and immersing themselves in the community.

“They’re also helping newly arrived Ukrainians best they can, whilst supporting family still at home,” she said.

Karen’s motivation to help comes from different places. She knows from personal experience what it’s like not to have a secure anchor space and the toll it takes.

“I experienced homelessness at a very difficult time in my life when, with a small child, I couldn’t go home - it was an act of kindness of someone I knew from work that gave us a place to stay, which allowed me the time and space to reset and work out what to do next,” she said.

Born in Cork city, Karen lived all over the place, including Damascus and Israel, as her dad was in the army.

“I often wonder if that influenced my sense of connection with people from other countries,” she said.

But she also describes herself as a ‘natural born disrupter’.

“As a child, I was the kid who brought home all the stray and wounded animals and started a petition for vegetarian food at the Presentation Convent boarding school! I have to take action where I see need, especially where I can contribute to a solution and affect real change.”

After 10 years in Bristol, and with a Masters in Nutrition, Physical Activity and Public Health under her belt, she moved back to Ladysbridge with Plan A. That marriage ended and with two small children she had to “reset and come up with a new plan under difficult circumstances”.

Seeing a need for a community space for people to come together, Karen set up the hugely successful Cottage Market movement, which she modestly describes as a more ‘grass roots farmers/crafters/bakers/growers/have a go-ers market style’ enterprise. At one stage, there were 25 cottage markets all over Ireland.

Next year will be its 10th anniversary and I keep having this mad notion to restart it!

From everything she’s been involved in, she is a firm believer in the power of people in urban and rural communities alike and knows that grassroot action can have a huge impact on things like health, education and the environment.

“People working with each and for each other in an inclusive, equal and responsible way is incredibly powerful.

“Together we have huge potential to bring about real change and community action is core to it all. Everyone can do something, it’s never too late and the time is now.”

To donate or help see communitiesforukraine.com/