Earlier this year, Irish woman Jacqui Nabb and Ukrainian woman Tetiana Pankiv sat down at a kitchen table in Co. Carlow and came up with a simple fundraising idea to sell sunflower seeds in an effort to raise money for the Irish Red Cross Ukraine Crisis Appeal.
The inspiration for this venture came when Tetiana and her three daughters Sofia (16), Marta (15) and Yana (5) fled their beloved home Lviv in Western Ukraine, and came to stay with her host, and now good friend, Jacqui.
Having fled her home country, Tetiana says that although she was relieved to be safe, she was overwhelmed with feelings of guilt, having so many of her family, friends and neighbours left behind or displaced.
The fundraiser, she says, has been a good place to focus her energy:
"We are safe, and we feel a lot of love from the Irish people," she explains. "But staying here safe and knowing that your people - your parents, your husband, all Ukrainians - are left behind. It's very terrible to see it and do nothing."
Sunflowers were chosen by Tetiana because it is the flower of her country, and has quickly become a worldwide symbol of solidarity and peace amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
"The sunflower is a symbol of Ukraine," she says. "It's a sun rising from the dark."
The call out for volunteers received an incredible response, with hundreds of people descending on Tullow to help fill 100,000 packets with 50 sunflower seeds.
The seeds are now being sold across Ireland for €5 a pack, in the hopes of raising €500,000 for the Irish Red Cross Ukraine Crisis Appeal.
The seeds are being sold across Supervalu and Centra outlets, and the team hope to raise €500,000 in total for the Irish Red Cross Ukraine Crisis Appeal by the end of June.
These funds will then be used to repair vital infrastructure, support health facilities with medicines and equipment, and support families with food and hygiene items.
