A Willesden-based faith leader was part of a group of British religious delegates to visit Ukraine.

Sister Maureen Goodman of the Brahma Kumaris movement joined the interfaith collective which also included former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams last week.

She said: “We joined together to show solidarity with those people who are in very difficult situations. Everybody was on the same page that we were going just to be with the people and to share love and compassion.”

The group visited an area where no conflict was directly taking place - a space just over from the Romanian border. However, the families and children they met had all been affected by the conflict.

Sister Maureen was part of a group to visit an orphanage.

“They started off with a capacity for 80 and now they have 200,” she said. “The children were getting a lot of love and care but to see young babies orphaned by the war was very moving.

“The children were very affectionate and it was a delight to be there with them despite everything that was happening in the background.”

Brahma Kumaris is a spiritual movement that focuses on identity as souls, as opposed to bodies and is notable for its prominent role of women.