The ever-worsening situation in Ukraine is certainly something that is keeping me awake at night and is no doubt occupying the minds of millions of people around the world. It is also something that is troubling me in a different way, connected to how we, as a nation, respond to moments of crisis across the globe and how we endeavour to support our fellow human beings. 

There has, understandably, been a phenomenal response to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. Donations to various agencies who can provide a coordinated response have been breath-taking, and the donations of so many items to be shipped out to support refugees fleeing Putin’s bombs, have shown the incredible generosity of so many people. The Homes for Ukraine scheme, launched by the Government just yesterday at the time of writing, has already had over 90,000 people sign up to offer their homes as safe places for Ukrainians to start their journey of rebuilding their lives. 

The response has truly been amazing and is a wonderful thing. But it has planted a seed in my mind about where this scale of response was to supporting refugees fleeing Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan and countless other places that people have been forced to leave in order to avoid war, persecution or natural disaster? Where is the Homes for Refugees scheme? What is going on in relation to the Ukrainian crisis that has caused this different scale of reaction to this particular sub-group of refugees, albeit that they are no less deserving than any other groups of refugees? There are certainly some searching questions that we can all ask of ourselves and of our politicians.  

And this has got me thinking about how we at Rise might look to respond to this horror as part of a wider refugee crisis that has been ongoing for some time.  Across the team there was, understandably, a strong desire to help in that first week of the war in Ukraine, and the team responded to the local calls for donations with gusto. But what can we, as an organisation focussed on using the power of physical activity to positively impact people’s lives in the North East do, not just in response to Ukraine, but in response to the plight of all refugees?  

Some wise advice from a former Oxfam worker on a recent call between all the active partnerships across England highlighted the need for headspace in a time of crisis response. Whilst governments and frontline humanitarian supporters perhaps don’t have that luxury, we have reflected internally on how we can best lend our support. We have therefore had the time to realise that we need to think about refugees more generally, not just about those fleeing Ukraine. We need to ensure that the power of physical activity can be utilised to support refugees who may find themselves located across one of the six local authorities of Northumberland and Tyne & Wear, either now or in the future. We are considering how we can support the many amazing local organisations who work with refugees in our communities and ensure that physical activity is accessible to them. We want to work together with our partners to ensure that refugees are made to feel welcome and have a cushion of support from our communities, regardless of where they come from in the world. The detail of all of this is still to be worked up, but we’re clear that physical activity has a role to play in offering refuge – the state of being safe or sheltered from pursuit, danger or difficulty – to anyone who comes to our shores fleeing war, persecution or natural disaster.