On the Ground In Moldova: Finding Helpers in Basarabeasca

by Brigid Rowlings, LHI Communications Director with Edu Furli, Director of Moldova Field Operations

The people of the small town of Basarabeasca, Moldova have opened their homes and their community center to over 700 Ukrainian refugees.

I didn’t know much about Moldova before joining the LHI team. Thanks to my now ten-year-old son’s fascination with geography a few years back, I knew it was a country sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine. Thanks to a nearby restaurant, I knew Moldovan cuisine is delectable. Now I know that Moldovans are some of the most amazing people in the world. Take, for example, this story from a tiny town in southern Moldova. It brought to mind a quote from Fred Rogers: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” 

Basarabeasca is a tiny town of around 7,000 people right on the border with Ukraine.

There are more than 700 Ukrainian refugees there. That is a ratio of 1 Ukrainian to every 10 native Basarabeascans. Basarabeasca has not received much financial help or humanitarian aid to help them support their new Ukrainian neighbors. Nonetheless, they have opened their doors wide to those in need. Most of the Ukrainian refugees are living with host families—that’s right, in the homes of ordinary townspeople.

Basarabeasca is not the only example of Moldovans helping their Ukrainian neighbors. Throughout Moldova, towns and organizations are pitching in. That is why LHI launched a small grants program. This program is based on the idea that local people and organizations in Moldova know what they need to assist refugees from Ukrainians. After all, Moldovans and Ukrainians enjoy a similar lifestyle, culture, and cuisine. However, Moldova is a resource-poor country, among the least wealthy in the region. Small grants from LHI can often make a big difference.

This is a map of where the recipients of the first and second round small grants are located. Since this map was created, LHI has awarded a third round of small grants to Moldovan organizations assisting Ukrainian refugees.

Edu and Oxana from the LHI Moldova team recently visited Basarabeasca, which received an LHI small grant. The town was so appreciative of the grant, which they used to provide warm clothing and food to Ukrainian people, that the mayor personally welcomed Edu and Oxana. They later visited what Edu described as “a truly beautiful, heart warming” community center where local people and refugees gather. They also quickly noticed that volunteers at the center were trying to do a lot with very little. They knew LHI could do more to help this community who was sharing so much of the little they had. They quickly worked with Irina from our partner in Moldova, Phoenix, to organize a delivery of material aid to Basarabeasca.

This is LHI doing what LHI does best: putting the human in humanitarian aid. Because we are small, and have teams on the ground in the places we work, we meet our beneficiaries and listen to them. Through our small grants program, we empower locals and help them meet needs quickly.

To learn more about our Ukraine emergency response efforts, including our Moldova small grants program, click here!

News from Ukraine: Newly Liberated Kherson Is Not So Live-able

by Brigid Rowlings, LHI Communications Director

Where is the owner of this single shoe? Are they still somewhere in Kherson, trying to get by in a city that has been destroyed by the Russian invasion and occupation? Or did they leave to look for safety in western Ukraine or abroad?

Like much of the rest of the world, I celebrated at the news that Kherson had been liberated from Russian occupation. I perhaps felt a little more joyful and celebrated a little longer, because unlike much of the rest of the world, my days are filled with sorting through news from Ukraine—some from news outlets, but much from LHI’s teams on the ground. After reading and writing about the women and children living at the LHI Shelter in Lviv, tracking Father George’s efforts to get humanitarian aid to people still living on the front lines, and considering the substantial danger the drivers who transport that aid there put themselves in daily, getting some good news was a relief.

This relief was tempered somewhat by the thought that maybe people who are not immersed in news from Ukraine day in and day out might think that the liberation of Kherson meant the war was over and the people of Ukraine no longer needed aid. This is so far from the truth.

Vasily from our partner org Caritas Mostyska sent us three of these photos showing the devastation in Kherson. A quick Google search showed me that much of Kherson, including the main bridge into the city, lies in ruins.

While Kherson may be liberated, it is far from liveable. As Russian troops withdrew, they left behind landmines and destroyed infrastructure. And though the occupation is over, Russia continues to shell Kherson, knocking out power again and again as quickly as Ukrainians are able to restore it. As the cold weather intensifies, sometimes the only way to keep warm is to visit one of the warming stations that have been set up around the town square. Buildings, homes, and vehicles lie in ruins.

One bright point: cell phone service has been restored—sort of. One portable 4G cell phone power helps people make calls.

Volunteers from Lviv drove east to Kherson with aid such as food and personal care kits.

Stas, the Director of the LHI Shelter in Lviv, and a friend recently loaded two buses up with badly needed humanitarian aid from LHI and drove it to Kherson. They were met by people desperate to receive it. But, they were also met by people desperate to get out of Kherson to what they hoped would be better conditions in the west. Stas and his friend agreed to take them, aware that loss of power and heat is very much a threat away from the front line, but also aware that after surviving 9 months of brutal Russian occupation, even the harsh conditions in the west might be a relief.

LHI has 7 operating centers in Ukraine. We are ready to respond quickly to evolving needs. You can help us! Visit our Ukraine response page to learn more.