MOLDOVANS SUPPORTING UKRAINIANS
There are an estimated 102,000 Ukrainian refugees currently living in Moldova. With a total population of about two million people, Moldova is the European country hosting the highest number of refugees per capita. Most are living in rented apartments, refugee accommodation centers, or shared spaces with host families. Moldova is a low-income country and has little resources to help refugees. This is one reason why our Moldova programs provide critical support.
LHI COMMUNITY CENTER
Our Community Center in Bălți (pronounced “Belts”), Moldova, utilizes the power of local and international volunteers to create a buzzing hive of activity benefitting Ukrainian refugee families. Their time living in limbo doesn’t have to be lost time. We teach language classes, provide children and youth activities, and offer art and fitness classes to improve mental health.
The LHI Community Center in Bălți, Moldova, is a buzzing hive of activity benefiting Ukrainian refugees.
We’ve created an inviting and dynamic space. Our goal is to help people heal through activities which develop resilience, overcome psychological distress, build a sense of community, and promote personal and professional development in a safe and positive environment. On any given day if you visit the center, you’ll see a lot of smiles with a feeling of friendship in the air. An international volunteer leads English classes for all ages and levels. An eccentric Moldovan woman volunteers to teach a theater class to kids. Bodies move and stretch in pilates classes. Children play and create. Their laughter and joy is contagious (unless they are crying because they don’t want to leave the center!) And music permeates the halls as people practice Bulgarian dances.
Our center helps refugees in Moldova process the immense trauma, grief and loss they have experienced. Our experience suggests access to therapy and social/emotional support reduces the risk of developing conditions that linger for years like anxiety and PTSD.
SMALL GRANTS PROGRAM
At the start of the war, the LHI team decided that a program distributing small grants provided the highest impact: effectively and quickly delivering aid and services to those in need, while also supporting local nonprofits and community groups in Moldova, including in Gagauzia, as well as in Transnistria (a breakaway enclave inside Moldova’s borders that is occupied by Russian troops). We are currently offering our 4th round of small grants.
Some grants have focused exclusively on offering support and assistance for basic necessities such as food, housing and transportation. But many projects also offered unique and targeted programs including agricultural training, social activities, psychological support, education integration, and legal services. We also determined that Roma refugees were slipping through the cracks, as they are often undocumented.
The map above highlights locations of LHI’s small grant projects in Moldova.
