Faces of Ukraine (Part 4)

written by: Jaron Malyon, LHI Director of Monitoring and Evaluation

Jaron Malyon has been on the ground in Moldova , Romania, Hungary and Poland as part of LHI’s senior admin team as they establish an immediate response to the Ukraine refugee crisis. He speaks fluent Russian and has been incredibly instrumental in creating several local partnerships.

“Help to Ukrainians. Free food and drink.” Sign outside of pop-up transit shelter supported by LHI at a border crossing from Moldova to Romania.

It’s not usually my role to be dispatched to crisis zones, but having lived in Moldova, Hungary, and Russia, it made sense this time. I’ve relied heavily on longtime friends in the region to understand the refugee situation as it unfolds and pinpoint areas where we can contribute.

At LHI, we’re always looking for the gaps in aid/service provisions, which is why I went to Moldova first. The int’l humanitarian response has largely focused on Poland—rightly so, given the massive number of refugees—but Moldova has been completely overwhelmed (in the early days, especially).

The first wave of refugees (mostly wealthier Ukrainians) have largely transited through Moldova and Romania to other destinations, but many in the subsequent waves (mostly poorer) are staying, at least for a while, confused, traumatized, with little resources and no connections abroad, trying to figure out what comes next. One man in a shelter with his wife and babies, told me, “The thing I need most now is advice!”

While orgs and volunteers have mobilized to meet the urgency of the situation, working 20-hr days to evacuate, feed, and shelter refugees, there’s hardly been time to think about what comes next. As we’ve seen from conflicts in other parts of the world, long-term crises will play out for years in countries neighboring Ukraine, even if they aren’t pulled directly into this war. As a Hungarian friend said the other day, “Hungary didn’t know what to do with 400 Afghans in November. How on earth will they deal with tens of thousands of Ukrainians now?”

At LHI, we’re grateful, honored, and moved by the trust so many donors (including family and friends!!) have put in us to get funds to the front lines and make a meaningful difference for as many people as possible.

📷 cred: Shannon Ashton

Click here to learn more and support LHI’s work for Ukrainian refugees.

Jaron Malyon on the ground with LHI in Moldova.

Faces of Ukraine (Part 3)

written by: Shannon Ashton, LHI Board Member

Shannon Ashton has been on the ground in Moldova with LHI senior admin team members Hayley Smith and Jaron Malyon as they establish LHI’s immediate response to the Ukraine refugee crisis.

Shannon, a professional photographer, has photographed LHI's projects and initiatives in 5 different countries since 2015. Many of LHI's most iconic photos were taken by her.

A local volunteer serves her homemade soups and breads to Ukrainian refugees crossing from Moldova to Romania.

It takes a village, people! I’m filled with utter amazement at the endless giving and love I have been a witness to during my time on the ground here. The countless micro-offerings of love given by complete strangers.

The young adults working round the clock in a pop up refugee centre in Chisinău. The teenager serving as a translator in his spare time. The kindness and comfort given by a Russian driver facilitating relief efforts. Aid workers running buses in the middle of the night out of Odessa to get people to safety. The business partners in Iasi opening a refugee centre in shopping mall in Romania at their own expense. The young Moldovans forming a grass roots task force tackling all sorts of problems. The vested volunteer at the Ukraine border tirelessly answering questions into the night. The man passing out flowers to all the women refugees on International Women’s Day.

We got stuck in the exodus, in a near 5-hour crossing from Moldova to Romania in the middle of the night. Nearly all the vehicle plates queued with us were Ukrainian, along with many buses carrying more Ukrainians. And pictured here, the townspeople at a Moldovan border town opened a makeshift rest depot providing home cooked meals and a smile for crossing refugees stuck in long border queues. Here they offered warm shelter and delicious warm meals as if everyone entering was a welcomed guest visiting their home. They treated us the same. I shall never forget the special moments shared in this little shack. So much love.

There is such good in the world. Even in this place of darkness we find ourselves in, there is something good to find. The people helping.

Click here to learn more and support LHI’s work for Ukrainian refugees.

LHI Founder/Director Hayley Smith (L) and Shannon Ashton (R) in Moldova.

Faces of Ukraine (Part 2)

written by: Hayley Smith, LHI Founder/Director

LHI founder/director Hayley Smith is on the ground in Moldova with other senior admin team members to establish LHI’s immediate response to the Ukraine refugee crisis. She has been visiting several sites run by local organizations to see how we can support both the orgs and also their beneficiaries.

She talked to Oxana at a shelter in Chișinău, Moldova. This is the transcription of their conversation.

Oxana from Odessa. She was so warm, so generous, so kind, so soft-spoken, so humble. Photo by Shannon Ashton.

[You can hear Oxana come down the rickety stairs from the attic apartment of the shelter to a storage room that is now an improvised living room]

Hayley: “Hi! I’m Hayley”

Oxana: “Hi, I’m Oxana” [Oxana knows English]

Hayley: "I want to hug you, but I don’t know if that’s okay, with covid and all”

[Oxana comes in for a long, strong hug]

Hayley: “Where are you from?”

Oxana: “We are from Odessa. We arrived tomorrow, I mean yesterday. We don’t know how many days I will stay. I hope maybe 10 days. I hope that the problems with Russia will be over. I’m here with my daughter. She’s five. Four families live in the apartment."

Hayley: “Are you traveling to family?”

Oxana: “No, I don’t have any family in Europe. I have friends in Poland. I have a sister in California [indicates her shirt], but I don’t know how I can get there. I don’t have a visa. And her husband is Filipino. They aren’t citizens and don’t have a way to get us there. I would rather arrive to Ukraine. I don’t want to live in another country. All of my friends and family are in Ukraine [5 second pause] I don’t understand yet what happened. I don’t understand yet. It happened very fast. I didn’t think it was possible. I still can’t believe. My mind can’t believe why? Why? Why did this happen? It’s very shocking. It’s just political things and we suffer. Now I think about my child. What will happen? What about her future? We can’t live like this forever. I very hope that God will see everything and I can maybe stay 10 days. I very hope and go to my country."

Hayley: “Are your parents in Ukraine? How are they?”

Oxana: “My parents are okay. My husband is live in Ukraine. He wants to live with us but he can’t. And my mother and father I want them to come but they say no, no. Go! We will stay here. It’s our country, it’s our town. My sister, very younger than me, and she says 'Go sister! Go Go Go! Very Faster! Go! No No!' She is very afraid. She has two children and my child. 'Faster! Go with your child now!'"

Hayley: “Do you talk to your husband everyday?”

Oxana: “I talk to my husband everyday. Morning. Afternoon. Evening. We say every day. ‘How is the town?’ ‘What is it like now?’"

Hayley: “Is everything okay there so far?”

Oxana: “No, this is the start. Because Odessa is a very big town, very important, and they want to control port. It is a strategy town or something like that. Because other town like Kharkov and Kyiv are in the middle, but Odessa is on the sea. It is where they can come into Ukraine. We will be safe here and hope the God."

Hayley: “And you have a child?”

Oxana: "Yes, you see my child is playing [upstairs]. She is good. She said, 'oooo! We have so many plans!' She has other girls to play with. She don’t understand. Maybe better this way."

Click here to learn more and support LHI’s work for Ukrainian refugees.

Hayley visits shelters in Chișinău, Moldova

Faces of Ukraine (Part 1)

written by: Shannon Ashton, LHI Board Member

Shannon Ashton has been on the ground in Moldova with LHI senior admin team members Hayley Smith and Jaron Malyon as they establish LHI’s immediate response to the Ukraine refugee crisis.

Shannon, a professional photographer, has photographed LHI's projects and initiatives in 5 different countries since 2015. Many of LHI's most iconic photos were taken by her.

This is Anna who arrived yesterday in Moldova on a bus from Odessa, Ukraine. Early in the dark hours of the morning of February 24th, a "rocket bomb" was dropped on the Odessa airport 7 kilometers from where she lives. Her apartment shook with force, and even though it was dark outside the sky lit up as if it were the sun. They spent three days in a bomb shelter where they couldn't wash or do anything. After a few days she took her son and left Ukraine for Moldova. She didn't want to leave, and had to leave her mother and ailing grandmother behind. They all told her to get out while she could even though they could not. She packed her son's things, enough to last through summer. She currently waits in a shelter in Chisinau hoping to get on a bus to somewhere. Maybe Poland? Spain? She isn't quite sure. 

"Please share this with all the people who don't believe what is happening here is true." 

Her child playing in the background as we spoke, I began to feel such incredible sadness over the upheaval of their lives, having to flee for fear of imminent death. And being forced to leave loved ones behind never knowing if they'll see each other ever again. These lives, lacerated. And the millions of others whose lives are likewise being torn apart by this barbaric war in Ukraine. I am angry at the evil that is causing this. 

We met so many others just like her, and right now thousands more are pouring across various borders out of Ukraine throughout Europe. I have been a witness to many refugees all over the world over the years, and I can say in absolute that this could be any one of us. And that fact alone requires that I do my part to help.

Click here to learn more and support LHI’s work for Ukrainian refugees.

Hayley (L) and Shannon (R) in Moldova.