As Ukrainians had to flee their land, and started arriving in Ireland, the town of Bray was one of the first places to which they were sent.  Cornerstone Church opened as one of the earliest hubs, as Ukrainians arrived to the hotel opposite.  I went along to see if I could be of use in any way.  As is my wont, I looked for Christian books that might help.

Bibles for Ukrainians were then unavailable.  But the good news was that the Ukrainian Bible Society was still functioning.  They were even delivering Bibles to besieged communities.  However, I have since secured Bibles and New Testaments in both Ukrainian and Russian.  Ukrainian is the native language of 68% of Ukrainians, and Russian is the native language of 30%.  I have two translations available in Russian, traditional and more modern.

My heart went out to the children who were most traumatised.  As no suitable books were available, the idea gradually emerged of producing a bilingual Ukrainian / English picture book to comfort Ukrainian children and their families.  So, to my great surprise, I became an author, and Oksana and Ihor Went on a Journey was born.

You can read about my own journey to produce this book by clicking here.