Following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, millions of Ukrainians fled to neighboring countries.
In Romania and the neighbouring Republic of Moldova, the initial influx was addressed by a web of spontaneous homebrewed solutions, thrown together by individuals, organizations, businesses, and churches, who arranged food, hosting with families or larger locations, clothing, and practical support.
Our normal accent is not on refugees, but because Chrysolis had been formally in Romania for about eight years at this point, our team had a good ground-level network of friends and organizations we knew who were active in responding to the emerging situation.
We therefore opened a fund as a small way to support some of these local homebrewed efforts. Within the first few weeks of the war, we were able to help furnish and set-up a number of new refugee centres in both Romania and Moldova.
As the war continued, many of these refugees moved on to Western countries, but others remain. We have continued to support and help finance a project in Bălți, Moldova, which assists with housing and supporting a group of Ukrainians who are unable to return due to the situation in their region.