Ukraine war: Northern beaches woman's mission to help people flee

Ms Straga has been a circus performer since the age of 16, and said many in her industry come from Eastern Europe. "The circus is like a family, wherever you are in the world," she said.

From her home in Dee Why, she's been coordinating vital information to help Ukrainians escape their home country and flee across the border.

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"When they're in a conflict situation they don't have a lot of internet," she said. "I started up doing different border exits that they could take."

Ms Straga is still heavily involved in the industry and is on the board of directors of the World Circus Federation, a founding director of the Australian Circus Festival and on the Steering Committee of the Global Alliance of Circus Schools.

It's thanks to these contacts that she's been able to find places for Ukrainian circus performers to be billeted as the conflict continues.

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She's currently assisting the Kyiv Academy of Circus and Variety Arts, which has 750 students aged 14-22 years old.

"I'm trying to network with other performing art schools," she said.

"I'm looking for schools that can billet at least 10 students. It's not just a place for them to study, we're trying to find schools where they'll be brought in like they're family.

"It's the largest collaboration of circuses in history. Every genre has come forward to support the Ukrainian circus community, with jobs, costumes, training spaces, transport visas, a home and logistics."

Circus arts are so popular that the city of Kharkiv has 37 circus schools. But Ms Straga said it has now "been obliterated".

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"The Lviv state circus building is one of the ones that hasn't been destroyed and circus people from around the country have gone there for cover and safety as a halfway house between leaving their cities and travelling to the border," she said.

Budapest performing arts company Recirquel has been raising awareness of the situation in the Ukraine during their performances of My Land.

"Recirquel has rented an entire apartment block and hotel to place 113 artists. We will need to help them and provide more things for the artists to be comfortable."

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