Meet Ukrainian Refugees Anastasia and Platosha

Our partners in Moldova are supporting refugees who have fled the war in Ukraine. Anastasia (age 32) and her son Platosha (age 2) have been staying at the Speranta Centre since the start of the war. Here is their story….

Our partners in Moldova are supporting refugees who have fled the war in Ukraine. At the Speranta centre in Chișinău, there are 25 beds available for refugee families to stay, either as they transit through the country, or to stay on a more long term basis. The centre has been offering accommodation, food and emotional support since the very start of the conflict in Ukraine and acted quickly to begin supporting refugees.

Anastasia came to Chisinau, Moldova, with her mother and Platosha, her two-year-old son. She is a single mother after tragically losing her husband to cancer when Platosha was a baby.

Anastasia and her husband found out they were expecting a baby, shortly after getting married and not long after they celebrated this news, her husband was diagnosed with cancer. Throughout Anastasia’s pregnancy, her husband was undergoing chemotherapy. Eight months after giving birth to Platosha, Anastasia’s husband sadly passed away.

At 5:00 AM on the first day of the war in Ukraine, Anastasia’s home-city of Odessa was bombed. She left for Chișinău, Moldova, the same day with her mother and Platosha, saying that she’d already lost a loved one and couldn’t bear to lose another. 

Anastasia's father is still in Ukraine. He has given all of his food stocks to the soldiers, and she worries about him constantly.

Anastasia, her mother and Platosha found shelter at the Speranta Centre we support in Moldova. At first, Anastasia was distraught and struggled to navigate her new environment. With their financial situation being difficult, Anastasia asked Lucia, the director of Speranta, to help find her a job. It was the first days of the war and things in Moldova were chaotic. There were not many places that providing support to refugees.

Lucia hired Anastasia as Speranta’s office administrator. Anastasia is now responsible for welcoming newcomers from Ukraine, showing Speranta’s premises and helping them get set up in Moldova. She is also helping Ukrainians apply online for government assistance, which is being provided to Moldova by the EU.

The work being done at Speranta is made possible by the generosity of our supporters who quickly responded to the crisis and donated to our Ukraine Appeal. Thank you.

Read about what we are doing to support Ukrainian refugees in Moldova and Romania >>