An Update from Our Crisis Response Team – Meeting Needs for Desperate Ukrainians

Food, hygiene supplies, warm clothes, medicine and more helped hundreds of refugees in Moldova last month.

Meeting desperate needs for Fleeing Ukrainians

Imagine fleeing to an unknown country with a newborn, three older children, and no spouse. You have zero money or contacts to reach out to in this new place. You listen to your baby cry and wonder where help will come from, if it comes at all. A few fellow refugees are kind enough to share some of the little money they have, but then they give you a greater gift: the contact information for people who work at Justice and Mercy International with the promise, “They will get you everything your family needs.”

When our staff received the call from this mother, we knew it was urgent and jumped into action. The very next day we were able to deliver milk, baby food, diapers, and more items to meet their immediate needs. The mother’s fear melted into relief and gratitude, as she said she couldn’t believe we came so quickly. Later that week, we returned with clothes for the whole family.

This mother is one of over 200 refugees from 78 families who received food and hygiene supplies last month because of donors like you. Because of your generosity, our team doesn’t have to turn desperate people away or tell the mother of a newborn that she has to wait for milk.

Living “like a queen”

The needs we meet extend from the youngest to the oldest Ukrainian refugees. Another meaningful encounter this month involved an elderly lady in the Edinet district, where there are few places to shop for food and necessities. Her Moldovan host, also an elderly woman, was doing her best to help provide meals, but had little means herself. The host called our team a week before she knew we’d be visiting to ask for specific items for her guest. When we arrived, the elderly refugee was surprised we came all the way to her and pulled us in for hugs. She looked in our bags, saw the variety and amount of food we brought, and cried. “Now, I will live like a queen!” she exclaimed.

Our team beamed with smiles as the tears rolled down our faces too. Cezara Moscalciuc, Head of the JMI Moldova Crisis Response Department, writes, “We pray to our great Lord for the opportunity to hear such situations and be part of HIS generosity.”

Providing for a new season

The start of fall in Moldova isn’t so different in some ways as in the U.S. Families prepare for their kids to go back to school and gear up for the impending cold weather. But while some of the needs are similar, the circumstances can be very different for a refugee family.

This past month, many mothers reached out to us to ask for clothes and shoes for their children for school, especially kindergarten. We were able to respond with invitations to these families to shop with us. They got to choose what they needed and to try it on for the right size. It was a joy to watch their happy faces, especially the children’s eyes light up.

In August, JMI provided clothing for 68 families, totaling over 200 people. Every refugee was tended to personally, and we did our best to provide for every need. They received nice shoes, warm sweaters, pants and other clothing items they both wanted and needed.

One mother with two daughters–one of them with a medical condition–hadn’t been able to afford clothes for her family. She cried happy tears when shopping with us and hugged our worker, thanking her for the much-needed help and care.

Our team, in turn, extends our gratitude to you, our donors, for providing the means to help refugee families with nowhere else to turn. They can count on us to be there in these difficult times, and we can be the hands and feet of Christ as we meet their tangible needs with love and compassion.

Continuing our work together

These are just a few of the powerful stories from the last month of our work with Ukrainian refugees. Please continue to pray for these people and for God to show us how to meet their needs. Our team in Moldova has suggested some ways we can pray for everyone involved:

• Keep praying for the refugees who are looking for jobs in Moldova.
• Pray for the refugee children who are studying online or going to school in Moldova.
• Pray for the Moldovans who are still giving their homes for free to the refugees.
• Pray for our staff to have continued wisdom and strength.
• Pray for the donors who are helping to care for the refugees today and in the future.