Help us help refugees from Ukraine

For three years after the start of the conflict in Ukraine, we ran weekly food distributions for 2,000 refugee families in the city, hundreds more in rural villages, and thousands across the border in Odesa. It wasn’t easy. But there was momentum, intense support, and a collective sense that generosity could outpace exhaustion.

That momentum has shifted.
Not because the need is gone — but because the world is tired. And while we understand that, it leaves us with a hard task: deciding where, and how, to keep helping.

These days, our humanitarian aid distributions are smaller. Much less frequent. More targeted. More personal.

We’ve been focusing more intentionally on displaced pregnant women and mothers of toddlers — especially those not yet connected to Moldova’s support networks.

Many are single moms. Many can’t afford child care. And many are carrying more than just their children — they carry postpartum depression, anxiety, uncertainty, and grief.

We’ve seen how early motherhood — already overwhelming under normal circumstances — becomes something else entirely when layered with war, displacement, and social isolation. It’s not just about a mother’s mental health. It’s about the emotional landscape a child is born into.

So we’re trying to show up there too. Quietly. Respectfully. With care.

Sometimes it’s food.
Sometimes it’s time.
Sometimes it’s simply making sure they don’t have to walk that path alone.

And we’re continuing to redefine what “help” means. It’s not just about calories. It’s about capacity.

That’s why we support Ukrainian women in Moldova who want to build their own food-related micro-businesses — catering, preserves, baked goods, small-batch products. Some just need a workspace. Others need help navigating the paperwork.
And sometimes, they just need to hear that someone sees and values what they do.

Thank You

This work isn’t loud or flashy. But it matters — and we’re only able to do it because you haven’t turned away.
Thank you for walking beside us through this long stretch.

Your support doesn’t just feed people.
It steadies them.

Links:

• Week After Week: How You Helped Moldova and Ukraine Hold On