This is my dear friend, Dagna and her beautiful baby daughter, Kora Sky.

Dagna is originally from Poland and has been been living, working and studying in the UK for 13 years now. I met her while we were both studying for a Counselling Diploma. Near the end of the course, Dagna met the love of her life, Daniel and after a few months fell pregnant. They were both delighted and planned to make a life together. Not long into her pregnancy, Daniel tragically died and Dagna was left to bring baby Kora into the world alone.

Managing with very little support, Dagna has bravely navigated motherhood alone. Through a haze of grief and postnatal depression, she has been a full time, incredible mother to Kora, now 15 months.

As a single mother on benefits, making ends meet has been a huge challenge and all her money has gone on providing Kora with all that she needs.

In September, Dagna was told she had to move over to the new Universal Credit system. All her money was stopped with immediate effect and she was told to wait 5 weeks for her new payment to come through.

4 weeks later this email arrived

Dagna and her baby have been cut off from all their benefits and told they don't have a right to live in the UK

Dagna has lived, worked and studied here in the UK since 2006. She has paid her taxes here and made Britain her home. Dagna was told that even though Kora's father was English, this offers Kora no rights of residency as he is no longer alive.

Devastated and utterly disempowered, Dagna has no choice but to try to get back to Poland where she has some family still.

With her benefits being cut off so suddenly, she has no money to pay for food, electricity or her rent, nevermind find the cash for flights and a removal van to take them back to Poland.

Dagna wanted to bring her daughter up here, close to the memories of her father and near his family. She wanted her to have a life full of opportunities that she believed would be possible in the UK. Instead they have had doors slammed in their faces and been entirely neglected.

This breaks my heart. I feel ashamed to be British and disgusted by the government.

Please help me to raise enough money to get Dagna and Kora safely home and create a new life back in Poland.

Thank you

xxx