Kirkcaldy community centre set to host third meal for Ukrainian families living in Fife

The monthly event offers an opportunity for Ukrainian families living in Fife after fleeing their home country to come together for a meal.

The event was born after Mandy Henderson, centre manager at Linton Lane, felt compelled to reach out to try and do something to reach those Ukrainian families who had ended up in Fife following the Russian invasion of their country.

Along with Frank Frame, a community outreach worker at Newcraigs Evangelical Church, they looked for ways to contact Ukrainian families living locally, however it proved difficult with very little information available on how many families were in the area and how they could be contacted.

Undaunted, Mandy continued to look for ways to reach families locally.

She said: “Linton Lane is a centre dedicated to reaching out into communities and to supporting families, we don’t give up.

"Local businessman Gavin Quinn contacted me and offered to do some fundraising to support Ukrainian families. In November he organised a comedy club that raised £400, but at that time we still hadn’t been able to contact any families.

"Then Christina Cucerenco, who is from Moldova and has been living in Kirkcaldy for five years, came into the centre for some tickets for a Christmas event.

"Frank recognised her from a previous encounter and as they chatted Christina told Frank that she had been so moved by events in Ukraine that she decided to invite a lady and her young son to leave Ukraine and come and live with her in Kirkcaldy.”

Elena and her seven-year-old son Ivan left Ukraine on December 5 and travelled to Scotland arriving in Edinburgh on December 8 with two handheld pieces of luggage. Frank and Christina picked them up from the airport.

The encounter meant that finally on Saturday, January 28 Mandy got her wish to host a meal for Ukrainian families at the Linton Lane Centre.

She said: “The traditional Ukrainian food was prepared by Christina and Elena supported by staff and volunteers from Linton Lane as well as volunteers from Newcraigs Church.

"We anticipate over 40 attending on Saturday.”

More information can be found on the Linton Lane Centre’s Facebook page.