UKRAINE
SUPPORT FOR REFUGEE FAMILIES IN MOLDOVA & ROMANIA
Millions of Ukrainians are fleeing the Russian invasion in their country and crossing the borders into Romania and Moldova where our local partner organisations are providing food, clothing and shelter.
Children on the Edge are working with these local partners to support refugees in Moldova and Romania with accommodation, food and essential supplies.
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At 5am 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 two year old son, Platosha. Her husband sadly died of cancer when Platosha was very young and she said that she’d already lost a loved one and couldn’t bear to lose another.
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 was hired 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. |
WORKING ON 'THE EDGE' IN MOLDOVA AND ROMANIA
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WHAT WE ARE DOING TO HELP
We are working with local partners to provide accommodation, food, clothing and support for refugees arriving in Moldova and Romania. Our Ukraine Appeal is raising funds to support this work.
Children on the the Edge worked closely with partner organisations in Romania and Moldova between 1990 to 2012 , it's where we began. Our relationships with these partner organisations remain strong to this day and we are supporting them as they respond to the crisis on the ground, which is changing rapidly.
We are ensuring they have the resources to quickly identify and respond to the needs of Ukrainian refugees as they arise. and make sure we are supporting them to cover the naturally emerging gaps left by the larger international aid effort.
Children on the the Edge worked closely with partner organisations in Romania and Moldova between 1990 to 2012 , it's where we began. Our relationships with these partner organisations remain strong to this day and we are supporting them as they respond to the crisis on the ground, which is changing rapidly.
We are ensuring they have the resources to quickly identify and respond to the needs of Ukrainian refugees as they arise. and make sure we are supporting them to cover the naturally emerging gaps left by the larger international aid effort.
Map showing where Children on the Edge are currently working in Moldova and Romania
MOLDOVA
In Moldova we are supporting our partners to provide three transit centres for refugees. These include a two-house transit centre in Tudora - on the border of Odessa, 25 beds at the Speranta centre in Chișinău, and a larger local hub with over 180 spaces, further inland in Vatici. All three centres are linked up, with transport provided where necessary between them as refugees travel through the country.
The 'Speranta' centre (meaning 'Hope') in Chișinău is providing hot food, clean beds and other essential supplies for refugee families. There are 25 beds where Ukrainian families have a safe place to stay, with hot water, food, and facilities to wash and dry their clothes.
Speranta is also currently working with other local organisations to support a local 200+ bed facility for refugees in Chișinău, providing them with vital supplies as needs are identified.
Along with accommodation and food, refugees are getting help to plan their onward journeys, as well the option to access emotional support, to support them as they process the trauma they have experienced.
Whilst local people have been generously providing food and clothing, the pressing need is funding for fuel and electricity to ensure our partners in Moldova can heat and run the centres where refugees are being hosted.
The Speranta Centre preparing beds for new arrivals
ROMANIA
In Romania, we have set up a dedicated, flexible emergency fund so our partners can respond to the needs of the most marginalised refugees as they emerge. This emergency fund is already being put into action to fill the gaps emerging in the aid effort.
We’ve furnished a house in Siret, which is housing a Ukrainian mother with her five children, and made an apartment available in Iasi for a woman who fled Ukraine at eight months pregnant, and could not move on further into Europe. We’re also filling gaps in food provision at a larger transit centre in Iasi.
Our partners are coordinating the distribution of hygiene products including soaps and shampoos to refugees in Romania. We are grateful to our friends at The Body Shop who were able to provide the necessary products so this could happen.
We are now supporting 43 children from Ukraine without parental care who arrived in to the Iasi region after their group home in Kyiv was bombed. Our partners have been working with the Child Protection Department in Romania to house these children, along with their carers in a centre in Iasi and have recruited a social worker, volunteer coordinator and are in the process of recruiting a Ukrainian speaking child psychologist so that these children can be properly supported and cared for in Romania.
Our partners have also set up a drop-in centre in Iasi, which is open 2 -3 times a week, in a space donated by a local business. Ukrainian refugees in and around Iasi are able to attend the drop-in for all kinds of support, including help to access medical appointments and prescription services and for items that they may need including clothes, shoes and hygiene products. Over 300 people attended sessions at the drop-in centre during the first two days of opening.
As the situation evolves day by day, we will continue to use this fund to meet the needs identified by our partners; always supporting those who are most on the edge. Keep an eye on our Latest Stories for news and updates.
We’ve furnished a house in Siret, which is housing a Ukrainian mother with her five children, and made an apartment available in Iasi for a woman who fled Ukraine at eight months pregnant, and could not move on further into Europe. We’re also filling gaps in food provision at a larger transit centre in Iasi.
Our partners are coordinating the distribution of hygiene products including soaps and shampoos to refugees in Romania. We are grateful to our friends at The Body Shop who were able to provide the necessary products so this could happen.
We are now supporting 43 children from Ukraine without parental care who arrived in to the Iasi region after their group home in Kyiv was bombed. Our partners have been working with the Child Protection Department in Romania to house these children, along with their carers in a centre in Iasi and have recruited a social worker, volunteer coordinator and are in the process of recruiting a Ukrainian speaking child psychologist so that these children can be properly supported and cared for in Romania.
Our partners have also set up a drop-in centre in Iasi, which is open 2 -3 times a week, in a space donated by a local business. Ukrainian refugees in and around Iasi are able to attend the drop-in for all kinds of support, including help to access medical appointments and prescription services and for items that they may need including clothes, shoes and hygiene products. Over 300 people attended sessions at the drop-in centre during the first two days of opening.
As the situation evolves day by day, we will continue to use this fund to meet the needs identified by our partners; always supporting those who are most on the edge. Keep an eye on our Latest Stories for news and updates.
A transit centre we are supporting in Romania; where refugees can stay before they move onwards with their journey
OUR HISTORY IN EASTERN EUROPE
Our co-founder and CEO Rachel Bentley visited Romania with Dame Anita Roddick in 1990 to help institutionalised children left in orphanages from the brutal Ceaușescu regime. This trip marked the very beginning of Children on the Edge.
Initially, our work in Romania involved helping three orphanages in the small village of Halaucesti in the Iasi district, in rural north-east Romania. We went on to support an early-years special needs centre in a suburb of Iasi where our partner organisation, Sansa Mea has worked miracles in turning around the lives of children with severe disabilities.
We also worked closely with the authorities of the Iasi region of Romania to change the pattern of institutionalisation and ensure that young people who grew up in state care learnt the necessary social and practical living skills to allow them to live independently in society. We also coached them in being able to access the services that will help them as they moved into adulthood. Fundatia COTE, our local partner in Romania is now fully independent and has a whole array of services for vulnerable teenagers.
In Moldova, to tackle the problem of children living in poverty without adequate care, at risk of abuse, institutionalisation, trafficking and exploitation, Children on the Edge developed our Child Friendly Space model in rural Moldova where the dangers were most evident.
This ‘Child Friendly Space’ in Moldova consisted of a converted house and area of land that acted as a centre for activities in the village.This centre serves over 200 vulnerable children of all ages and aims to protect and support these children as well as building community relations. In the years since the Centre was established, it became the hub of the community. Work with the children at the Centre has reduced the crime rate and increased school attendance in a way that will significantly halt the common cycle of poverty and vulnerability.
We assisted our local partners to become an independent Moldovan run organisation, now running the centre and using independent local funding.
CAN YOUR BUSINESS SUPPORT US?
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Is your company looking for a way to support refugees in the wake of the devastating conflict in Ukraine?
We are grateful for the generous support from some brilliant businesses across the UK who are fundraising for our Ukraine Crisis Appeal through their sales. You can join them and make a a positive difference, whatever your size. Work for Good helps charities with this and businesses can set up the necessary legal agreements for sales fundraising in a matter of minutes. Contact fundraising@childrenontheedge.org to find out more or chat to a member of the team about how you can support our work. |
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YOU MIGHT LIKE
READ ABOUT AN UPDATE ON THE SITUATION IN ROMANIA AND MOLDOVA
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CASH OR STUFF? WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO HELP? READ OUR BLOG
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READ ABOUT OUR HOW WE'RE SUPPORTING UKRAINIAN REFUGEES IN EUROPE AND OUR HISTORY IN THE REGION
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READ ALL THE LATEST NEWS FROM UKRAINE ON OUR BLOG >>
Please donate now to support Ukrainian families fleeing conflict in Moldova and Romania
Anything you can contribute will make a difference, and go directly to supporting Ukrainian refugee families where it is needed most. We are in regular contact with our partner organisations and contacts on the ground in Moldova and Romania where the situation is changing on a daily basis.
