I’ve met Poppy Gibson on Twitter – she is very active on her page, talks about her life, work and children there. Recently, Poppy published a new children’s book, the proceeds from the sales of which she decided to send to our Foundation.
The publication “A Home for a Ukrainian: Дім для Українців” is not only a bilingual story about the journey of refugees from Melitopol to the United Kingdom – but it is also an opportunity through various exercises to build compassion for others and tell children about what war is.
We spoke with Poppy, the book’s illustrator Terry Culkin, and Yulia, Daniel’s mother, the main character of the book.
– What inspired you to publish this book?
Poppy: Well, last year I published a book called “Inspiring Primary Learners”. I was a teacher and I some kind of used to children’s books but I’ve never published a children’s book before. I guess the inspiration was from Yulia and from her son, and when we came to each others lives. And me just feeling that Daniel’s story needs to be heard and to be shared.
I just felt that Daniel’s story needed to be heard and to be shared
That was a big risk, and that’s why Terry kind of made it happen because I didn’t know any illustrators, didn’t have the money to hire an illustrator. Terry made the illustrations so quick, and Julia translated the book the same night.
She translated it into Ukrainian because we wanted it to be accessible for both English children and Ukrainian children – you know many coming to England, who don’t speak English. So, that was a team effort. So, I really wanted you to know that without any of them, it couldn’t have happened. I had the idea, but without Julia, without Terry it wouldn’t have been a reality.
Terry: When the war started, we were all a bit helpless in England thinking what on earth can you do to help? You can send money, you can find cash, and donate. But is there anything a little bit more practical, a little bit of Me?
When the war started, we were all a bit helpless in England thinking what on earth can you do to help?
And I thought I can do that. It might help. I’ve done a few children’s books in the same way for people on Twitter. I just like to try to do what I can.
– Yulia, tell me how you ended up in England.
Julia: Originally I’m from the city of Melitopol. When the full-scale invasion began, I was on my way out of the city within a few hours. We went to the mountains, to the west of Ukraine, and had only one question – where to go next? Apart from Great Britain I had no wishes, but unfortunately, Great Britain didn’t offer any program for refugees at that time, so we waited till something would happen. And as soon as Great Britain announced this program we decided to participate in it without any hesitation.
I’ve had only one question: where will I find a host family? There were no websites, and no resources to find one. So I started to search through Facebook for groups dedicated to supporting Ukrainians. That’s how we met Poppy and her family. And Poppy sent me a message that they can provide accommodation for a family, and they have children of my son’s age. I was looking at this family and thought – oh, they are young, they are open-minded.
Poppy: My children and Daniel go to the same school they’re like close friends. It’s tricky to talk with children about war, we don’t want to tell children about that. Many of them have never seen war, but then Yulia and Daniel moved into our house and then we talked with the kids about why this family had to move in with us. It was really good to be able to talk with my children about the war. It’s just built my children’s understanding and compassion.
– Now there are many fakes about Ukraine on the Internet. On Twitter, you can even find myths that this war actually does not exist. What advice would you give to people who believe such things?
Terry: Recently we’ve had a comment that I and Poppy are wasting our time, because what’s the point of doing this, for personal glory? And that really upset me, because I’d never thought of anyone who wouldn’t believe in charity for vulnerable people in another country.
That’s the same with the people that don’t believe in what’s going on. How on earth can people go through their life thinking it isn’t happening? That’s the same with people who think that there’s no war in Syria, no war in Afghanistan and that nothing is happening in Yemen. And the people who think it’s not happening are sitting quite comfortably in their chairs in the UK or America.
Poppy: I would only tell them to do some research. I’ve heard about Ukraine only from British TV. And then, when Yulia moved in with us, I heard such a different truth, the reality. I would tell these people to take responsibility and find out the truth about what’s happening in Ukraine. We’re really lucky here in the UK, even though we have some own issues here, but war isn’t one of them and it’s easy to feel detached from that.
But it’s still happening, so people need to keep this human element – that living in the sheds and orphanages in Ukraine and this is a real thing. Just open your eyes, I guess.
People need to keep this human element – that living in the sheds and orphanages in Ukraine and this is a real thing
– What feedback did you receive on the book?
Poppy: Many people liked Terri’s illustrations, the book is so colorful and bright, so the children wanted to learn more about the events described in it. By the way, the pictures are not a detailed depiction of Yulia and Daniel’s story, they are a general image of a refugee child from Ukraine.
I also like that some teachers brought the book to an elementary school. There is an activity where you can cut out glasses, decorate them with glitter, put them on, and discuss what we see and what a refugee child can see through those glasses. It builds empathy in children, and tells them the story through the lens of other children. It shows the power of empathy when we open each other’s eyes.
Poppy continues helping the Voices of Children Foundation. The book is available on the Amazon platform