A KIND-HEARTED boss has travelled to Poland to hand over 74 laptops to be given to Ukrainian women and children who were displaced due to war.

The collection will allow families to access remote education after fleeing their homes earlier this year due to the Russian invasion.

Peter Boolkah, 51, is a business coach in Colchester. He set up the Laptops 4 Livelihoods campaign, distributing them with the aid of charity worker Faye Savage.

Mr Boolkah and employee Lucy Hood have now visited Ukraine to hand over the laptops. 

The laptops had been donated by Colchester residents, being collected at the Shoulder of Mutton pub, on Halstead Road, during August and September.

Visiting Poland at the end of September, Peter and Lucy were able to see the first hand benefit of their incredible work.

The pair were taken to Paszkowka Palace, an old hotel which has been turned into a refugee hostel for Ukrainian women, children and elderly relatives.

During their visit they met Katerina Rodkina, an administrator at a hospital who uses her donated laptop for admin work in the hostel.

They were then introduced to Aryna Rymar, a mother who fled Ukraine with her six-year-old daughter Viktoria.

She now uses the donated laptop to grow her cake business and support herself.

Viktoria and her friend Kira were also given laptops. The children can now study.

Peter and Lucy found that many of the children attend Polish school in the day, then return to the hostel in the evening to go online and catch up with their Ukrainian education.

The pair were also able to donate a laptop to a resident who is a psychotherapist, supporting the women and children with their trauma.

The hostel’s cook was also given a laptop to speak with her husband and son.

She received the laptop with tears, as she had only been able to speak with her family once a week prior to the donation.

Peter and Lucy have received a further offer of around 60 to 100 laptops from a large British organisation.

Lucy said: “We are really keen to get the word out that the refugees keep leaving Ukraine and those that have gone back are going back to bombed houses, in some cases no electricity and very poor conditions.

“They need our help to ensure that they have a way to communicate with the outside world and earn money.”

To find out more about the cause and donate, visit bit.ly/3SVBYFh.