Creatures great and small

Church helps pair to escape Ukraine

A YOUNG Ukrainian woman who volunteered with the Salvation Army in the UK three years ago has escaped the Russian invasion with the help of two of its church leaders, reports the Irish Independent.

Oleksandra Hromova, who first came to Ireland and volunteered with The Salvation Army on a gap year in 2019, is now living in accommodation provided by the church and charity with her mother, Yuliia. Olesksandra has returned to volunteering for the organisation and works as a barista at its Hub Café on King’s Inns Street.

The mother and daughter undertook a 30-hour train and bus trek to the Polish border after the airport in their hometown of Dnipro was destroyed.

‘On the very first day of the war I woke up to explosions, there were four really strong ones and our windows were shaking,’ Oleksandra recalled. ‘I was so scared.’

Salvation Army church leaders Captains Tim and Charlotte Lennox kept in contact with Oleksandra. ‘We said quite early on, “if you need to get out, just know there is a place for you to come to,”’ they said. ‘Bringing Oleksandra here was not part of our homeless accommodation or refugee project, it was simply about helping out a fellow church member at the most difficult point in her life.’

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What’s the buzz?

Gardeners are focusing on bugs in National Allotments Week

Feature by Claire Brine

LOVE them or hate them, we need creepy-crawlies. And creepy-crawlies

need somewhere to live. But how many of us can name the minibeasts that visit our gardens, flower beds and vegetable patches?

Before National Allotments Week concludes tomorrow (Sunday 14 August), the National Allotment Society is prompting gardeners to complete an online survey, listing any bugs and insects they have spotted around their plots and plants. The idea behind the initiative is to encourage people to remain active on their allotment over the summer, while also working towards the preservation of insects in the UK.

Younger gardeners are also being invited to spend time outdoors and get their hands dirty. The big bug hunt worksheet – available on the National Allotment Society website – teaches children how to We have identify minibeasts while also providing them with the power some interesting facts. (Did you know that there are 46 different species of ladybird in the UK?) to cultivate Big or small, bugs are important for wildlife and nature. The organisation Buglife, which supports our mind National Allotments Week and aims to protect all invertebrates, says that insects are responsible for ‘pollinating our fruit and veg, controlling our pests and improving our soil’ – and therefore ‘vital to healthy growing’. Without bugs, plants and vegetables we wouldn’t survive for very long.

When it comes to bigger species, such as humans, we also need help in growing healthily – because sometimes life can leave us feeling damaged. Perhaps we face tough situations in our home or work environment, making it impossible for us to thrive.

Though we can’t always control the conditions around us, every day we have the power to protect and cultivate our mind. We can ensure that it is rooted in things which are good and true.

For Christians all over the world, Jesus’ message of God’s love has proved life-changing – and life-giving. It’s about a heavenly Father who forgives our mistakes and then guides us on how to do better. It’s about nurturing a relationship with our Maker who promises us eternal life if we believe in him.

When we embed our lives in God, we can find ourselves growing in love, patience, peace, joy and faith. Is it time we turned over a new leaf?