We are very happy to welcome our first arrivals to the UK!
These devotees contacted the ISKCON UK Ukrainian Crisis program who then matched them with a UK host (a devotee family who has a spare room )
This enables them to receive visas to the UK. In turn, a visa grants them a 3-year residency with rights to work and claim benefits.
( ukrainecrisis@iskcon.london )
Mataji Viktoria arrived last week from Poltava, Ukraine. She travelled for 3 days and finally safely landed in Heathrow, London.
Another Mataji Viktoria arrived from Hungary at Karuna Bhavan, an eco-farm in Scotland on the 6th of May. She will be followed by Mataji Veronika arriving from the Czech Republic to the same location on the 9th of May.
Yesterday (6th of May) a family of 3 arrived in London from Germany travelling by land and ferry. Prabhu Sergei, Mataji Maya and their 7-year-old son Maksim. They will be staying with their host in St. Alban’s. They found their host themselves via online groups.
Tonight (7th of May ) Mataji Inna is arriving in central London from Dusseldorf via Paris. She is travelling by land free of charge. We are going to greet her at St.Pancras International train station.
Mataji Julia arrived in a small town near Newcastle 2 weeks ago and travelled to London and Oxford to meet Russian speaking devotees and join their Sunday program in central London, as well as visit the Radha Krishna Temple in Soho as well as Bhaktivedanta Manor. She is looking at options to relocate to the south of England.
On the 1st of May, at the Russian speaking Sunday program in Holborn, both Viktoria and Julia Matajis received a warm welcome and participated in the kirtan, lecture and prasadam program. Today (7th of May) both of them are going to Bhaktivedanta Manor for a Special Event and darshan of Radha Gokulananda and tomorrow they will attend the Sunday (Russian speaking sanga) program with Dhirasanta Dasa Goswami in Holborn.
Also today I’m going to meet with two other Ukrainian Matajis who arrived of their own accord a couple of weeks ago and will narrate their story in the next report.
– Bh Inna – ISKCONUK – UKraine Crisis Coordinator