People in Need promotes the social integration of refugee children at "Bookfest" in Chisinau

Children from Educational and Recreational Centers coming from Causeni and the village of Caplani, Stefan Voda district, including refugee children from Ukraine and children from the local community, immersed themselves in the world of books and reading at the International Book Fair "Bookfest," where they had a fascinating meeting with Ukrainian author and illustrator Olga Grebennik.

"I spent the first eight nights of the war with the children in the basement. All the time I was drawing sketches that later became this book," the author said.

Olga captivated the children with her interesting stories and gave a masterclass in book illustration. During the gathering, the author presented her series of children's books, written in Ukrainian and Romanian, which came to fruition thanks to the support of People in Need and Seneca publishing house.

"We organized this special event to give children the opportunity to discover quality literature and learn directly from an author how a book is born. Both the children from Moldova and Ukraine were very enthusiastic about this opportunity. Apart from the educational aspect, I am sure that this activity will also contribute to a faster integration of Ukrainian children into the host community," said Eugenio Carrillo, Humanitarian Programme Coordinator at PIN Moldova.

The event was organized within the framework of the PLACE project, with the support of EU Civil Protection & Humanitarian Aid, as part of the activities dedicated to the 20th anniversary of PIN's activities in Moldova.