A CHARITY worker was left heartbroken after more than 50 children saved from Ukraine had to return to the war zone.


Alex Ong, of Kingswood Heath, Colchester, works with the charity Save a Child and was working to help 167 vulnerable women and children leave Ukraine.


He had successfully helped them leave Ukraine and they found refuge in a hotel in Poland.


But Poland changed the regulations meaning refugees could not travel on just a birth certificate.


Alex had returned to England for a few days to collect his newborn daughter’s passport, so he and his wife could return to Poland to further aid the cause.


The British government was unable to approve visas for groups meaning 50 to 60 of the children had to return to Ukraine and are now staying in a refugee camp.


Save a Child, a charity which moves children from conflict areas, completed the physical evacuation from Lutsk in Ukraine, getting the children to a hotel in Poland where they stayed for a few weeks.


The aim was to bring the women and children into England until there was peace in Ukraine.


As Save A Child focuses on the larger situation, Alex and his wife Svitlana, who is from a Ukrainian orphanage herself, have been focussing on working with the children and boosting morale in the camp.
Svitlana has spent time informing the children of how their life will be when they eventually come to England.


Alex said: “It has been OK to be recharging back at home, obviously we want to get back out there and help.


“There have been chicken pox outbreaks at camp, as well as salmonella issues. There are daily problems to overcome, and we still want to do our part.”


The couple plans to return to Poland in the next few days with their newborn daughter, now that she has a passport.


They plan to continue their work alongside Save a Child, to bring the vulnerable women and children to safety.