Ukraine Crisis One Year On: Our Impact

A year ago today (24th February), Russia launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine by land, air and sea. This was the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War II. Thousands of Ukrainian families had no choice but to flee their homeland, taking only what they could carry. 

With a history of working in Moldova and Romania, which both border Ukraine, Children on the Edge responded immediately. Thanks to the generous outpouring of support from our community we were able to make an impact as refugees arrived, then throughout the year as they came to terms with the longer term consequences of the war.

A RAPID RESPONSE

​With established local partners in Romania and Moldova, and great generosity from our supporters, Children on the Edge were able to respond almost immediately.

Within one week we sent out initial funds to meet the emergency needs of the first wave of Ukrainian arrivals.

Within 10 days our COO, Ben Wilkes was in Romania, planning with our local partners and talking with Ukrainian refugees arriving across the border. 
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Within 2 weeks our £15, 000 Emergency fund was providing transit accommodation for refugees travelling through to wider Europe, food and other supplies to refugees as they arrived in Romania and Moldova.

One year on we are still offering vital support for refugees, as the support from other organisations has waned and are committed to supporting Ukrainian refugees as they face a second year away from home. 

You can donate to our Ukraine Appeal to support refugees as the conflict enters a second year.

MEET IRYNA GORBACHOVA​

When we spoke with Iryna she felt tired; she hadn’t slept as she knew her home city of Zaporizhzhya had been under attack the night before. 

“I still want to go home” says Iryna, “I wait for it everyday”.
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Iryna is a marketing professional who fled Ukraine with her nine year old daughter and her parents last February, when the Russian attacks made it too dangerous to stay any longer.​​

​"The first week after the attacks we stayed in shelters in Ukraine, but they were cold and we got sick. The air raid sirens were going off all the time and my daughter began to get so frightened. This is what made me decide to go in the end, I knew I needed to save her life.”

Iryna and her family didn’t plan to go to Romania. They decided on travelling to Bulgaria because the language and culture there is similar to Ukraine. She considered going to Poland for the same reason, but as so many refugees had already gone there, she knew it would be overrun.  ​

​"We started out the journey to Bulgaria, but the road conditions were terrible. There was so much traffic and worse still, there were missile attacks. We got across the border to Romania and we were all just so tired, so we stopped to be able to rest and wash and find some food. As we talked to the volunteers we realised that it was better to stay in Romania rather than take the journey on to Bulgaria. We felt glad that we were slightly closer to home, as we thought we would only be gone for a few weeks.”

Iryna met Marius Aonicesei, the director of our partner organisation in Romania in the spring of 2022, through online Telegram and Whatsapp groups, hastily set up by Ukrainian refugees as they arrived, knowing no one and not speaking the language.  Marius needed an English speaker and Iryna volunteered. 

“I thought I was going home, I wasn't looking for a job! I went to help with food distribution and many people were in need. They were so disoriented and shocked by the situation, suddenly finding themselves in a strange country, shyly queuing for food in a warehouse”.

Read more about Iryna's Story here >>

​A FLEXIBLE RESPONSE​

In the swarm of agencies and volunteer groups arriving in Romania and Moldova, through the expertise of our local partners, we focused on those who were the most marginalised. 

This involved focusing on identified gaps in services, and providing flexible support to reach those who needed it most. After our initial rapid response, we turned our focus to those refugees who were faced with the reality that they had no choice but to stay longer term in Romania and Moldova. To meet these needs, we:

• Established a Drop in centre to provide food and basic supplies. The centre has over 1,800 Ukrainian refugee contacts that use the service, each representing an average family of four. 200 food parcels are given out a week, with around 10,000 distributed since the centre opened

• Began supporting over 40 Ukrainian refugee children without parental care, who fled to Romania when their orphanage was bombed. A colourful residential centre in Iasi was refurbished, with activities scheduled daily and trained psychologists employed to help children deal with trauma.

• Continued to provide shelter and care for refugees in Moldova, including over 1,100 nights of safe accommodation for those who are transiting and those who are needing to remain in the country.

• By the start of 2023 a brand new Day Centre was opened in Romania, we supported it with furnishings to make it a bright and useful space. Over 500 people attended in the first month, using it as a community hub to socialise, enjoy a variety of activities and connect to online school. 

​A CONTINUED RESPONSE

The Ukrainian refugees we support are no closer to getting home. They expected to take refuge for a few weeks, but weeks became months and now, a year later, Europe’s biggest conflict since 1945 is no nearer to a conclusion. 

People remain disorientated in countries where they don’t speak the language and have no means of continuing their lives. Causing over 18,000 civilian casualties within a year, the war has caused serious trauma and unspeakable loss. 

This time last year, the media was awash with hundreds of people from all walks of life, uniting to help Ukrainian refugees. A year on, these families still need our help. They need more than emergency food parcels and medicine for survival, they now need quality support, connection and agency. Children without parental care need to feel safe, recover from trauma and have fun with their friends. 

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

The new day centre is a popular space for refugees to gather

As the conflict enters a second year, together with local partners, Children on the Edge will be working to provide vital services, in safe spaces, with trained professionals for Ukrainian refugees in Romania and Moldova.  

Now the media spotlight has moved on from the crisis on the borders, please support our Appeal to help to meet these needs.