When bereft mother of six Liliya Onopa walked into the bungalow created for her by a small school community in Chepstow she thought it was a scam. The cosy space has been decorated beautifully with no stone unturned.
“There are even scissors for manicures,” Liliya told WalesOnline, sitting on the sofa in her new lounge after taking her three youngest children to St Mary’s RC Primary School, where she tells us they are settling in well. Her new home is less than a stone’s throw from the school. In fact, the community have worked tirelessly to ensure the house met the standards required to house Liliya and her boys.
“There were even slippers for us all. It’s those little things,” she went on. “When we came here for the first night there was a hot meal for the children.” After what Liliya has been through in the space of a horrendous few months, little acts of kindness have gone a long way. But at the start she couldn’t believe it, and even now she finds it difficult to understand why. You can get more news like this and other story updates by subscribing to our newsletters here.
Her translator, Julia Dubin, explained: “She kept asking: ‘Why? Is it a scam? I don’t understand why people are doing so much for us.’ But I keep saying to her that it’s different here. The people here want to help each other and they…
