{"id":416459,"date":"2023-02-24T12:05:03","date_gmt":"2023-02-24T10:05:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/?p=416459"},"modified":"2023-02-24T12:05:36","modified_gmt":"2023-02-24T10:05:36","slug":"we-tried-to-respond-to-all-needs-filantropia-federation-a-year-of-assistance-for-ukrainian-refugees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arhiva.basilica.ro\/en\/we-tried-to-respond-to-all-needs-filantropia-federation-a-year-of-assistance-for-ukrainian-refugees\/","title":{"rendered":"We tried to respond to all needs: Filantropia Federation, a year of assistance for Ukrainian refugees"},"content":{"rendered":"

Friday marks one year since the start of the war in Ukraine and the beginning of the population exodus from Romania\u2019s neighbouring country. Nevertheless, representatives of the Filantropia Federation of the Romanian Patriarchate continue to provide assistance.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe tried to respond to all the needs,\u201d said Father Ciprian Ioni\u021b\u0103, patriarchal adviser and president of the philanthropic federation of the Romanian Orthodox Church.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a year where we had challenges and tried to meet all the needs. We are still running projects with refugees,\u201d the patriarchal adviser added.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe continue to give hot meals to all refugees entering our country at the Siret border crossing. In addition, with the assistance of International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), we provide refugees still in Romania with 600 lei coupons.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year, the initiatives implemented in partnership with IOCC provided support worth 5.3 million lei. The previous year’s contributions for border dioceses within the Romanian Patriarchate amounted to an additional 275 thousand euros.<\/p>\n

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The Archdiocese of Suceava and R\u0103d\u0103u\u021bi offered emergency food packages for refugees on February 25, 2022, the first day after Ukraine’s war outbreak. Photo: Suceava and R\u0103d\u0103u\u021bi Archdiocese \/ Irina Ursachi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Today, in Ia\u0219i, where 2,000 Ukrainians reside with private persons, Filantropia Federation is implementing a project that provides children, accompanied by their mothers, grandmothers, or aunts, with tours to tourist attractions in the Archdioceses of Ia\u0219i, and Suceava and Bukovina.<\/p>\n

Two hundred seventy children have benefited from this project so far, Father Ciprian Ioni\u021b\u0103 noted.<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0annual report<\/a>\u00a0summarising the activities of the Romanian Orthodox Church in 2022 presents figures regarding the support offered to Ukrainian refugees: its value is equivalent to 8.7 million euros.<\/p>\n

The Diocese of Southern Bessarabia, which has five border crossings with Ukraine, sponsored refugees in the amount of 1.5 million euros on its own.<\/p>\n

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Refugees at Siret border crossing point in the first days after the outbreak of war. Photo: Archdiocese of Suceava and R\u0103d\u0103u\u021bi \/ Irina Ursachi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The aid included round-the-clock assistance for refugees at border crossing points, more than 13,000 accommodations and more than 600 humanitarian aid transports, almost a third of which also reached Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova.<\/p>\n

Republic of Moldova, the country having the most number of refugees per capita<\/h1>\n

The dioceses of the Romanian Patriarchate in the Republic of Moldova carry out programmes for the country’s numerous refugees.<\/p>\n

The Republic of Moldova has received the highest proportion of refugees relative to its population since the beginning of the war: over 4% of the country’s population, which surpasses its capacity to meet their requirements.<\/p>\n

More than 111,000 migrants entered the Republic of Moldova in March alone, but the state’s ability to sustain them was barely 15,000.<\/p>\n

Hence, three-quarters of the refugees, 80 per cent of whom were children, were welcomed into the homes of Bessarabian families, who provided them free support.<\/p>\n

The Diaconia Social Mission of the Metropolis of Bessarabia was at the forefront of support efforts. Between March and August 2022, it provided volunteers and a support centre at the Criva border crossing point, which helped 2,259 people, including 411 children.<\/p>\n

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Help for refugees through Moldova’s Food Bank, an initiative of the Diaconia Social Mission. Photo: diaconia.md<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The organisation delivered approximately 120 tonnes of supplies to 89 refugee shelters last year. In addition, the organisation provided and distributed packages to over 54,000 individuals and shipped two batches of nearly 7 tonnes of products to Odesa and three more to Chernivtsi.<\/p>\n

The non-formal education project Ludobus, which reaches rural communities, and the two educational centres opened last year\u2014the Anastasis Educational Centre in Balti and the Multifunctional Centre for Children and Families “St. Anne” in Chisinau<\/a>\u2014provide socialisation and counselling services of various types, including psychological, for refugees and their children.<\/p>\n

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The Diaconia Social Mission also provided psychological support for refugees. Photo: diaconia.md<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR), the Diaconia Social Mission also provided a financial support programme for more than 96,000 refugees.<\/p>\n

Read more:<\/p>\n