A year ago, Natalia made a quick but monumental decision to grab what she could and leave the life she and her son knew in Ukraine. The sounds of explosions near her home deeply frightened her 10-year-old as the Russian invasion of her country progressed.
“In that moment,” she told Church World Service (CWS) staff in Moldova, “I realized that the most important thing was my son and that we had to leave.”
Natalia and her son are just two of many hundreds of thousands of people from Ukraine who have made their way over the border to Moldova, which is a fraction of the size of its much larger neighbor. Moldova is one of the poorest countries in Europe, and being close by, receives Ukrainians who cannot afford to travel any farther.
“The Moldovan people and government have been remarkably welcoming and generous with Ukrainian refugees,” said Roland Fernandes, general secretary of Global Ministries and the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). “We have partnered with CWS to support the refugee center in Balti, Moldova. Methodists helped to launch CWS in the mid-1940s after World War II, and we really have not seen such a large need in Europe since that time.”
Your gifts on UMCOR Sunday helps support the foundation for the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) to share God’s love with communities everywhere.
Once in Moldova, Natalia found a welcoming community that she described as “a warm hug.” She found a place to live and started volunteering at the CWS-supported distribution center in Balti, in the northern region of Moldova. She helps distribute food and clothing to other Ukrainian refugees. She joins a large community of refugees focused on helping one another, who understand her experience and, like her, have made a home in Moldova while waiting for the day they can return to Ukraine.
At the CWS refugee hub in Balti, refugees can pick up food and hygiene supplies, get medical or mental health support and connect to other available services. Warm clothes for the winter and blankets are distributed by volunteers like Natalia there, helping to shield the new arrivals against the winter weather.
Another UMCOR grant helps provide education for women and children in Balti and food distribution, education, accommodation and protection for refugees in Chisinau, the capital city, in southern Moldova.
After a few months in Moldova, Natalia’s tears of sorrow have turned into tears of gratitude. She and her son have created a peaceful life, as Natalia confirmed: “In this city, my son and I feel safe. He is smiling, he’s singing, he’s drawing, he’s going to school online. I am also teaching school online to Ukrainian children.”
Despite the war, Natalia remains hopeful. Recently she was reunited with her parents, who came to live with her in Moldova. Her father was excited to see his grandson and said, “to be one family in one place is the moment we finally feel totally safe.”
Gifts to UMCOR’s International Disaster Response Advance #982450 can now be designated online for relief and recovery efforts in Ukraine. Click on the link above to find out more.
excerpt from a story by Christie R. House, consultant writer and editor with Global Ministries and UMCOR.
One of six churchwide Special Sundays with offerings of The United Methodist Church, UMCOR Sunday calls United Methodists to share the goodness of life with those who hurt. Your gifts to UMCOR Sunday lay the foundation for the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) to share God’s love with communities everywhere. The special offering underwrites UMCOR’s “costs of doing business.” This helps UMCOR to keep the promise that 100 percent of any gift to a specific UMCOR project will go toward that project, not administrative costs.
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