A Broughty Ferry manse has been refurbished to house a family of Ukrainian refugees.
The Krasnopolska family were among the first wave of citizens to arrive in the UK as war broke out in their home country.
They initially stayed with relatives in Broughty Ferry under the Ukranian Family Scheme, but it became difficult to accommodate them.
Now a group of church-goers have grouped together to refurbish an old clergy house to offer them a more spacious home.
Reverend Dr Nathan McConnell of Downfield Mains Church – who has a PhD in migration, asylum seekers and refugees – led the project.
He told The Courier that differences in the level of support offered to Ukrainians arriving through the family scheme led him to realise that they would need further help.
He said: “One of the key difficulties was finding housing for them.
“In conjunction with the Church of Scotland, we’ve opened up a vacant manse and refurbished it in Dundee.
“We started about two or three weeks ago.”
The Krasnopolskas – a mum and three children aged 17, 15 and 12 – moved in with their cousins last month, with hopes that the children’s grandmother will be able to join them soon.
Dr McConnell said: “Because there are five of them, they realised it wasn’t going to be tenable for the family that they were staying with.
“They just didn’t have the space.
“We went into a pretty derelict manse that had been vacant for about three years and then a group of churches started working together to bring it up to speed.
“The Ukrainian family, who had been technically made homeless, will be able to get into the manse next week.
“We’ve raised thousands of pounds and all the various aspects of the community have come together to pull the manse into place and bring it up to spec.
“It’s been beautiful to watch how the community has come together.
People from various backgrounds working together
“There have been over 40 people working on the manse – from painting and carpeting to putting in new kitchens and bathrooms. It’s been really amazing.
“They are from various backgrounds as it’s not just the Church of Scotland, we have everyone working together.”
Dr McConnell has assisted in setting up 16 Christian churches in Ukraine since the mid-1900s.
“I’ve actually stood in places where the bombs have hit,” he said.
“After the Communist fall when the doors were opening back up, I had a friend who had a real heart for their own people and wanted to start churches for them.
“My church in the United States helped three churches start and those three churches went to 16 churches.
“So in 16 cities throughout Ukraine right now, there are pastors who are friends of mine who are staying to serve.”
