A WOMAN who helped to transform a Ukrainian boy’s life is set to release a book about the experience.

Sue Johns started English learning centre Kingsway in Worcester with her husband Rick 34 years ago.

She has now written Leaving Ukraine about how Russia’s invasion of the nation in 2022 changed a life.

The story came about after Sue sponsored a boy to head to the UK from the war-torn country and he lived with her family near Worcester.

The mother-of-three said: “The book tells the story of Yurii, then aged 16, who left his home in Kyiv when the Russians invaded.

“It was purely chance that a contact of mine knew someone who knew Yurii’s father and so I ended up sponsoring him to come to the UK.

“He lived with me and my husband Rick in Ombersley from April 2022 and was given a free place at RGS (Worcester) to study A levels.

“He left our home earlier this year when he took up a place at the University of Sussex to study computer science.

“The first half of the book tells of Yurii’s six-week journey travelling alone through Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland and France before getting to the UK.

“Throughout his travels he relied on the kindness of strangers for places to stay.

“His story is interwoven with my efforts to get him a visa and to help other Ukrainians get to the UK.

“Once he gets to my home I then focus on cultural differences and how he had to adjust to living with us.

“I describe how the village of Ombersley rose to the challenge of welcoming Ukrainians and the ways in which Yurii and others were supported.

“So many people were involved in helping him in different ways. There will be a section on Kingsway English Centre, the business which gave me the Ukrainian contacts.

“We set up Kingsway English Centre in Worcester in 1990.

“Our first premises were in St Mary’s Street and, as the business grew, we moved to Northwall House, The Butts.

“From 2000 it was based at Foregate Street but closed in 2020 due to Covid.

“It reopened as Kingsway House Business Centre.”

On the book which is set to be self-published and will be her first, Sue added: “I wanted to write it as a record for our family initially but then I got a bit more ambitious.

“I already have the book cover and a website to promote it.

“If the timetable goes to plan I hope to have the book ready for sale by the end of November.”

Kingsway was started as a school for adults who wanted a short, intensive English course in England. Most of the students were professional people who needed English for work and included engineers, academics, politicians and managers from a variety of industries.

Students came from all over the world but most were from Europe and Japan.

In a typical week the school had a total of 20 students and 10 different nationalities.

Ninety per cent chose to stay with carefully-selected host families in the area and it was this experience that led Sue to setting up her own system of matching refugees to sponsors.

For more details on the book, visit www.leavingukraine.org.uk.