Sarah Ferguson has endured a heartbreaking few days as she journeyed to Ukraine and Poland to see first-hand the effect of Russia's invasion.
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The Duchess of York has been in Ukraine and Poland and on Friday met with refugees who had fled to towns in Poland like Rudy and Kuznia Raciborska, areas that she admitted she'd "known and loved" since the founding of her charity, Sarah's Trust. Sarah shared several photos of her meeting women and children who fled the country, and she sweetly embraced some of the children in the snaps.
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"It's important to remember the people and the places who have been such a big part of my life," she explained. "I also wanted to honour the smaller towns and villages who haven't hesitated in opening their doors to the Ukrainian people."
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Sarah also confirmed that her charity would be sending additional aid to Rudy in the coming days.
Sharing emotional stories from her time there, she penned: "I spent time with Ukrainian families given refuge at the Old Abbey. Fr Jan Rosiek runs the Foundation 'Stare Opactwo Rudach'. They have fled from different parts of Ukraine, walking for days with their children."
Sarah met with child refugees
In one very moving part, she highlighted: "I spoke with Oksana who is 6 months pregnant who made the journey to Rudy with her 7 year old son Goran. And also Olga, and her children Jan (4) and Paulina (5).
"Crying, they tell me how grateful they are for the kindness of the Polish people, and they say they will try their hardest to do their best whilst here.
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"But they see their stay as temporary as, more than anything, they long to return home to their country, to their husbands who are fighting for the survival of Ukraine. We talked about always believing in hope, the smile of a child."
Sarah's followers sent dozens of messages of support for the work she was doing, as one wrote: "You have the sweetest soul. The world is lucky to have you."
The Duchess' charity is helping those in need
A second added: "How special you are," and a third posted: "I'm so happy you could be there when most of the rest of us aren't able, just having someone to listen and tell their truth to is what is giving them hope, I'm sure I'd [love] it (not least your wonderful hugs!)"
In an official statement released earlier this week, Sarah said: "I want to do my bit through my charity, Sarah's Trust, and am here to hear more about what is needed on the ground. So far, we have organised for three articulated lorries with supplies designed to help refugees from Ukraine in Poland.
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"These include clothes for women, children, nappies, hand sanitisers, toiletries, torches, and non-perishable food like porridge oats. All of these items have been provided by kind-hearted donors in the UK who I can't thank enough."
Explaining her motivation to help others, the Duchess continued: "I think those of us in countries further away have a duty to help the Polish people respond to this crisis. Two of our lorries have gone to Rudy and Czeladz, and the third one will go to the Silesia region. I feel a duty to help Poland because I feel such a connection to this country, which I first visited in 1992."
If you want to help the people of Ukraine amid the escalating Russian conflict, these are the charities in urgent need of donations: British Red Cross, International Medical Corps, UNICEF and CARE.