June 12, 2023
News
The war in Ukraine has been going on for 15 long months. Neighboring Moldova has taken in more than 700,000 refugees since the war began and around 100,000 remain in the country. Among them is 41-year-old Aliona, who fled Ukraine with her family. Caritas Czech Republic in Moldova offered her a helping hand. Aliona started helping at the local rehabilitation center immediately after her arrival and is happy that her work is making a difference.
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Moldova was the obvious choice
Aliona and her husband Ivan lived a quiet life in Kryvyi Rih in southern Ukraine. On March 10, two weeks after the outbreak of war, they got an order to evacuate because enemy troops were approaching the town. The couple decided to leave for Moldova with their 24-year-old daughter.
The couple originally comes from Moldova and they have relatives there who provided them with accommodation. "Moldova is not a foreign country for us, we have roots here. We are staying with my parents, which I am very grateful for because it saves us a lot of money," explains Aliona.
They did not want to be dependent on humanitarian aid
The evacuation to Moldova was very hectic for the family, who arrived in safety the same day. They managed to pack only the essentials. Caritas Czech Republic in Moldova provided assistance to the family. In addition to hygiene kits, they received vouchers for a supermarket and a clothing store. "I am very grateful for the help. We did not bring seasonal clothes with us, but thanks to the vouchers we were able to buy things that we left in Ukraine," says Aliona gratefully.
"At first I was ashamed to accept humanitarian aid. I am healthy and I can find a job. But then I realized that as a volunteer I needed help," says Aliona. A week after arriving in Moldova, she started helping at a rehabilitation center in Ceadîr-Lunga, in the south of the country. Aliona is a trained rehabilitation specialist and previously worked in a similar position in Ukraine.
Aliona helps children with rehabilitation
For more than a year, Aliona has been helping children at the center who have spinal problems or live with disabilities. The management of the center cannot praise her enough, they did not have a similar specialist before and thanks to Aliona they can offer the children a wider range of rehabilitation.
"My life looks different now than in Ukraine, but I do not regret it. I feel needed and I know that my work makes a difference. I am not only helping local children but also the refugee community," says Aliona, who hopes to return home to Ukraine after the war. The couple would like to move to Kyiv so that Aliona can finish her university education in physiotherapy.
How does Caritas Czech Republic in Moldova help refugees?
More than 700,000 people have headed to Moldova since the start of the war in Ukraine. For most of them, it has been a transit country, but more than 100,000 refugees from Ukraine continue to stay in the country. Caritas Czech Republic in Moldova has equipped 12 refugee accommodation centers to provide decent housing for refugees.
We helped the war-affected people thanks to support from the Directorate General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO) and Caritas Luxembourg. We provided immediate cash support to refugees while improving access to healthcare for them.
We also helped refugees with supermarket vouchers, vouchers for clothes, and the distribution of hygiene kits. In total, we supported 15,000 people in this way.
