An apprentice at a Peterborough employer has taken unpaid leave to extend his vacation to help Ukrainian refugees fleeing war with Russia.

Daniel McGeorge-Oanta, 25, who is an apprentice engineer at online retailer Amazon, in Kingston Park, was vacationing in Moldova with his wife Lucy when the dispute broke out on February 24.

The couple originally planned a week-long volunteering trip with Christian Mission International Aid (CMIAID) to Moldova, which shares a border with Ukraine.

They were expecting to paint and arrange props and scenery for a play about the life of Christian evangelist George Muller, which would be shown to local schoolchildren.

But the day Daniel and Lucy arrived in Moldova, war broke out in Ukraine and a state of emergency was declared and their week-long stay became a three-and-a-half-week humanitarian effort, with the couple taking a unpaid leave to extend their trip.

Daniel said: “The decision to stay was easy.

“We were in the country to volunteer, and although the war was heartbreaking, it was a privilege to be able to serve in Moldova with CMIAID and play a very small role in a global humanitarian effort.”

CMIAID in Moldova has become a base for new arrivals from Ukraine, with 30-40 people staying at one time before moving on to other destinations.

The charity also prepared 150 meals a day, which were delivered to the nearby town of Cahul, where more refugees were staying.

To support the association, Daniel even made an emergency trip to Romania to buy supplies, including toothbrushes, toothpaste and hygiene products, as well as to help with the daily preparation and distribution of food.

He said: “Many of the people we were dealing with at the border in Moldova were stopping for a short time before continuing their journey to families and friends in Moldova and across Europe.

“Much remains to be done, as those who have chosen to stay longer in Ukraine will undoubtedly need more help due to the increasingly dangerous situation in their home country.”

The couple, who live in Spalding, are now safely back in the UK, but Daniel said: “Lucy and I will continue to support CMIAID through regular donations of food parcels which will be sent to Moldova by our church, and I am grateful to the team at Amazon Peterborough for allowing me to extend our stay and contributing what I could to the relief effort.

Gareth Davies, site manager at Amazon in Peterborough, said: “We welcome Daniel’s commitment to volunteering in Moldova when war broke out in Ukraine.

“His sacrificial act of extending his journey to support others sets an example for his colleagues, friends and family and we are extremely proud to have him on our team.”

Amazon has launched two humanitarian aid centers in Slovakia and Poland to help deal with the crisis in Ukraine.

A network of Amazon fulfillment centers across Europe provide more than four million supplies donated by both Amazon and its customers, including shelter materials, hygiene items, blankets and clothing.