Ukrainian refugees appreciate positive impact of World Vision's project activities in Romania

On this scorching Wednesday, the refugee hub for Ukrainian families in Constanta, Romania, runs its usual routine. Distribution lines move quickly, as people collect their food items and sanitary kits in turns. The Happy Bubble, a child-friendly-space, brims with enthusiastic children.

Nataliia locates a spot for her upcoming English lesson in the front row of the packed classroom in the refugee center. She joins twenty other Ukrainian women who joined the language classes funded by Global Affairs Canada to support integration to the country context.

Participants pull out tiny notebooks and go over the vocabulary from the last lecture. Twenty words, visibly hurriedly scrawled in the notebook by Nataliia are read out by the entire group, repeating the syllables in a synchronized chorus. “She is a woman,” reads the group from the screen imitating the teacher’s accent.

“Learning English and the Romanian language has not only provided me with new career prospects, but also given me the confidence to interact with local communities,” says Nataliia, who fled war-torn Sumy, a city in northeastern Ukraine and sought refuge in Romania.

She attends World Vision’s weekly language courses in Constanta facilitated by a project supported by Global Affairs Canada (GAC), while her seven-year-old daughter, Sofiia, plays games at the Happy Bubble.

“Besides providing language courses, the GAC-funded project focused on mental health and psychological support activities,” shares Iozefina Teodorescu, World Vision’s Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency field officer.

She adds, “The activities of the project had a major impact on helping the Ukrainian families to overcome the trauma of the war and fight the toxic stress caused by these difficult times.”

“Wake up, it has started.”

As Nataliia rebuilds a life 1200 kilometers away from home, everything reminds her of Ukraine. She recalls the first day of the ordeal – the first day of war. At 5:30 a.m. on February 24, she was woken up by a call. “Wake up, it has started,” said her friend in a trembling voice.

She instantly knew what her friend was referring to, woke up her husband and two children. “On February 23, the school advised us to pack 'emergency bags' with food and water for the children. We bought granola bars, small bottles of water, nuts, and raisins for snacks,” recalls Nataliia.

The project activities have a major impact on helping the Ukrainian families overcome the trauma and fight the stress caused by these difficult times.

In the minutes following the call, she quickly crammed a pair of pants, two t-shirts, and one sweater for each of them into a compact travel backpack. In her shoulder bag, she stuffed the passports and all the cash that she found in the apartment.

Call after call, she was trying to get her family out of the city. “The hope of leaving Sumy and going to Western Ukraine was melting away with each passing minute,” said Nataliia. “I was getting desperate.”

At 1:30 p.m. the same day, she finally found a car that could take her children out of the city, but only 30 kilometers from Sumy. The tanks were already stationed in the city as they were departing.

“There were battles on the highway, so we took a detour,” recalls Nataliia.  “The tanks were standing there, almost “staring” at us with their muzzles,” she went on.

On the second round, they reached the village 30 kilometers away from Sumy. Ten people were living in a small house, four of them sleeping on a double sofa. “We were just happy to be alive,” said Nataliia.

From the very first day, she started helping the men and women fighting on the frontline.

When Sumy’s power plant was destroyed, Natalia’s family had to relocate. “Our new place of residence was a 15-minute walk from the troops,” she said.

March felt like a prolonged winter. As the glass windows were cracked by several blast waves, the house was engulfed by an icy cold that penetrated your bones. “I clearly realized that I needed to leave the region for western Ukraine at the earliest opportunity,” explained Nataliia.

The escape

As she plotted their escape, the “green corridors” began in Sumy. According to Nataliia, people would identify themselves as volunteers, promising to transport you to a safe location, and then take you out of town and rob you. “I was nervous and terrified of losing my children on the way,” she recalled.

On March 18, she finally found a volunteer who was bringing food to the military and promised to take them to western Ukraine.

“It was scary,” said Nataliia. She continued, “My mom was crying. She didn’t want to go and didn’t want us to go.” “I was joking with fear that maybe we would drive a few kilometers away and return home,” she went on.

Nataliia and her children arrived safely in Romania in February 2023, after spending one month in a cellar, two months escaping to western Ukraine, and five months in Bulgaria. “I did it for my children.”

World Vision in Romania has reached more than 294,000 people like Nataliia, assisting Ukrainian refugees with basic needs, shelter, psychosocial, education, protection, health, and cash programs.

Story and photos by Laurentia Jora, Communications Coordinator