More hope and warmth as the winter season approaches

For most, winter is a charming season, thanks to the beauty of nature and the holiday spirit. However, for many families living in Moldova, this period comes with many challenges and difficulties as well, such as heating their households, obtaining energy compensation or ensuring the necessary conditions for children to attend school.

To help those in need, we launched the "Iarna dăruim căldură" campaign for the second year in a row and managed to bring joy to 900 children by providing vouchers for winter clothing and footwear.

“We managed to support around 900 children by giving them vouchers to buy winter clothes. We reached out to both Ukrainian refugees and vulnerable families in the Moldova to give them the support they need,”

explains Xenia Martînov, Deputy Project Manager.

Thanks to the generosity of the government of the Czech Republic, through the project "Support for education and sustainable solutions for refugees and communities affected by the war in Ukraine," the team at People in Need has been able to contribute to the well-being of refugee children from Ukraine, as well as Moldovan children who attend schools in Moldova, but whose families struggle financially.

“I found out about this organisation and registered my four children, who are attending school. I want to sincerely thank People in Need for this support on behalf of all refugees. It is a great help for our family, a joy for the children and a way out for us,”

says Elena Shliaieva, a refugee from Ukraine and a mother of 5 children.

The happiness and excitement with which the children received the news and went shopping with their parents for boots, jackets and other warm clothes for the winter season cannot be quantified.

"Today I bought gloves, a hat, a jacket and a pair of pants,"

Mihai, Elena's son, happily told us.

In addition to the financial contribution for children going to school, the People in Need team in Moldova, with the support of the Czech Development Agency (CzechAid), has been engaged in the mission to improve learning conditions by identifying problems and developing sustainable solutions to repair them.

Thanks to a donation of more than 10 million Moldovan Lei, five schools in different regions of the country are undergoing repairs and energy efficiency restoration work. The work includes replacing windows, installing efficient lighting and changing radiators. At the LT Matei Basarab, this work is being finalised, and very soon the children will benefit from brighter and warmer classrooms this winter.

Another important initiative consists of providing support for registration for compensation program for the inhabitants of the southern region, specifically Comrat, Ceadir-Lunga, Vulcanesti, Basarabeasca, Căplani, Cahul, Causeni, but also for those from Chisinau.

For 2 weeks, our colleagues, joining the initiative of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Republic of Moldova, offered assistance services on several levels in the registration centres in the mentioned regions. This included:

- Consultation on the application process

- Assistance for online registration on the platform compensatii.gov.md.

- The possibility to call a mobile team at home for people with disabilities and/or serious illnesses who cannot visit the registration centers.

"The energy crisis has existed in Moldova for more than two years. Now, the Moldovan government has its own tool to respond to this challenge through the Ajutor la Contor program. This year, the assistance will be paid directly to the applicant's account. We are therefore focusing on helping people to sign up for the government program. We are working with the government, as well as with the local authorities, so that people can use itl independently to help them in various situations,"

said Guillermo Llinás, Country Director of People in Need Moldova.

This activity was made possible thanks to the support of the European Union through EU Civil Protection & Humanitarian Aid, managed by People in Need in consortium with Acted Moldova & NRC - Norwegian Refugee Council.