The New Zealand-based family of a 64-year-old Ukrainian woman say she has made it out of war-torn Ukraine, to the safety of Slovakia.
When Alex Wills and his fiancée Marria Torbina spoke to Breakfast about Torbina's mother on Tuesday, she was heading towards the Slovakia-Hungary border via train. The journey was expected to take 30 hours.
Torbina's mother was carrying one bag and had abandoned the apartment she had worked her whole life for.
Wills and Torbina are desperately trying to get her to New Zealand and were told to apply for a border exemption.
READ MORE: Family plead with Govt to help get Ukrainian mother to NZ
"I'm very happy to announce that my mum made it to Slovakia," Torbina told Breakfast on Wednesday.
"Due to you and your lovely team we got lots of love, lots of support and we were contacted by a lovely New Zealand lady who has family in Slovakia. Her name is Michaela ... Again we want to thank you from all of our hearts. She contacted her sister who is now in touch with us to help our mamma to stay in Slovakia until we wait for [a] decision about [a] visa to New Zealand. Thank you so much."
Wills said: "It was one of the moments of light yesterday that kept us going.
"Between lobbying in the day for visas and working with mamma in the night, we're just getting an hour or so of sleep here and there. It was incredible and our hearts also go out to the train drivers who drove the train at breakneck speed last night … with no lights in the carriage and I understand possibly no lights on the rails and they got the whole train their safely."
Kind-hearted Breakfast viewer Michaela Horcinova had contacted the team on Tuesday morning to say her family in central Slovakia were prepared to help in any way to accommodate Torbina's mother and provide food and money.
Horcinova said her family were also prepared to help Torbina's mother with transport to the airport.
She told 1News her family would be setting Torbina's mother up in their apartment building in the village of Slovenská L'upča, which is about 10km east of city Banská Bystrica.
"My family are more than happy to help," Horcinova said.
She understood Torbina's mother may be able to catch a bus provided by the Government and then a train to get to or close to Banská Bystrica. They would work out how to get Torbina's mother to Slovenská L'upča from there.
"We are happy to help in any way."
She hoped that when Torbina's mother arrived in Slovenská L'upča she would feel comfortable as the village was "beautiful".
Horcinova told 1News herself and her family had been looking to offer help and to help someone directly, as they were not comfortable sending money.
"If you help one person this is a good start."
Horcinova and her family said they are also happy to help others.
The Government has recently made changes to visas for Ukrainians to make it easier for them to stay longer in New Zealand or come into the country immediately.
Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi told Breakfast on Wednesday he is considering further border exemptions to bring in people from Ukraine who have family in New Zealand.
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