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Coleen Rooney makes mercy dash to help child victims of Putin's 'evil' war in Ukraine
Coleen Rooney said she was inspired by her four boys and adopted sister, Rosie.
Coleen Rooney has spoken candidly about her recent mercy dash to Poland, where she met children deeply affected by Vladimir Putin's merciless conflict in Ukraine.
The dedicated mother of four recalled how her own sons – Kai, 15, Klay, 12, Kit, nine, and Cass, seven – motivated her journey to assist families uprooted by the burgeoning war.
While visiting Poland to show solidarity with those who have escaped their besieged homes, Coleen, also known for her stint on 'I'm A Celebrity...', reflected on her late adopted sister, Rosie, who passed away at 14 in 2013 following a battle with Rett syndrome, particularly when meeting disabled refugee children.
This war has led to an exodus into Poland comparable to the mass displacements of World War Two.
Coleen's poignant trip included a stop at a UNICEF Educational Rehabilitation School where she encountered fitness coach Kateryna and her son Murat, aged seven, who struggles with learning disabilities and non-verbality.
The pair had embarked on an arduous journey of almost 700 miles from Nikolayev, central to Volodymyr Zelenskyy's stand against Putin's harsh regime, finally finding sanctuary in Krakow.
Revealing her emotions to the Mirror, Coleen expressed her heartfelt solidarity with the displaced mothers: "As a mum, your first thought was what would you do? What goes through your mind is just to protect the children and make sure that they are OK. And that's exactly what these mum's were doing, they got out of Ukraine."
Coleen, 39, has told of her emotional visit to meet Ukrainian mothers and children who have fled the war-torn country. The WAG spoke to one mother, Kateryna, whose home was hit by a tank.
"She showed me videos of what was happening and that resonates with you, because of that protective instinct," Coleen said.
"I can relate to being a mum and the first thing in that situation is to get out of danger, to just make sure the kids are OK. But I couldn't imagine what was going through their heads, the emotions."
The TV personality visited a UNICEF centre for disabled children, which brought back memories of her late sister Rosie, who had a disability.
"One of the schools was for children with disabilities and I grew up in that environment, my sister went to a school like that," Coleen explained.
"It was just like where they were, with music therapy, physiotherapy and all those things for the senses. I felt so comfortable, it wasn't a shock. That was probably the easiest visit of my time in Poland because I've experienced that and I felt comfortable there."
Coleen also visited a Spilno Hub, in Krakow, which supports families who've fled the war, providing psycho-social support to help them deal with the horrors of war.
She met Yuliia, her sister Olisia and Yuliia's daughter Anastasiia – known as Nastia, aged four.
They have been in Krakow for three years, travelling from Kryvvi Rih on an evacuation train carrying just a backpack each. As they fled they turned their phones off to help them go undetected by missiles.
Coleen has told how the trip helped "open her eyes" to the reality of war and the devastating impact it has.
Coleen said: "I wouldn't say it's affected me, but it's given me a big insight into what's going on around the world and the aftermath. You know, you think it is over, it's not. These people have been hit with trauma and it's hard for them to move on.
"They're doing what they can but it could affect them for their entire lives. That's what struck me, we see things on the news, but we don't think that much into it. It was a real eye opener to see the disruption to people's lives."
She went on: "It's quite a humbling thing to see. But I think the great thing is that despite the tragedies there are people that are willing to go above and beyond for people out there."
Despite the harrowing trauma suffered by children during the conflict, Coleen said the mental care they were receiving was paying dividends.
"There was one place we visited and what really stuck with me was, they showed me all the artwork the children had done when they had initially arrived from Ukraine," she recounted.
"There were lots of dark colours and it was really quite moody and it was quite upsetting to see. But after being there for a while they clearly lifted and the artwork was full of lots of colour. The children have been receiving therapy and it shows that it really works."
During her visit to Krakow with UNICEF, Coleen observed the remarkable transformation in refugee children's art as a result of therapy funded by donations to Soccer Aid.
Her husband and football legend Wayne Rooney is set to feature as a player-manager in the charity match alongside stars such as comedian Paddy McGuinness, Olympic icon Sir Mo Farah, and One Direction's Louis Tomlinson.
"Soccer Aid is a big part of our family, it's been a yearly thing in the calendar for the last, I don't know how many years," Coleen added. "And my boys love attending and Wayne obviously is involved so we're looking forward to seeing him. And then my youngest Cass is going to be one of the mascots, so it's a real family affair."
The much-anticipated Soccer Aid for UNICEF 2025 is scheduled to occur on Sunday June 15 at Old Trafford, with exclusive live coverage on ITV1, ITVX, STV, and STV Player.
Supporters who wish to contribute to Soccer Aid for UNICEF, which raised a staggering £15million last year, can make their donations by visiting
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