Nadya, whose name means "hope," spent her 16th birthday fleeing her home city of Mykolaiv, Ukraine. Photo: Lucy Beck/CARE
“The situation was really, really bad in Mykolaiv, from March 7 onwards. They were attacking with rockets, heavy caliber machine guns. One of my friend’s houses was even hit by a grenade and destroyed, luckily he had already left to Poland.
“Mykolaiv was attacked every day for two weeks with only one hour break. It was so scary there. The day we left was the first quiet day since the war started.
“I am traveling with my grandmother, mother and my little brother.
“We had a really long drive here to Romania with lots of traffic jams all the way. Now we still have eight hours to get to Bulgaria. The most important thing is to be safe. We are going to Bulgaria and then maybe to Germany or the UK.
“I am studying at the Academy of Children’s Creativity in Ukraine; we are on holiday until March 25 but after that I don’t know what will happen.”
CARE’s partner provided Nadya’s family with diapers for her baby brother Vova, and helped move their belongings to the car of a friend – who will drive them to Bulgaria while they plan their next steps. SERA, CARE’s partner in Romania, is also training 200 psychologists to help refugees overcome the trauma of war and displacement. Food, hygiene items, mattresses, and blankets are also being provided.
Almost three million Ukrainian refugees, mostly women, children, and the elderly, have fled the country since the Feb. 24 Russian invasion. More people stream into Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Moldova with each passing day. Ukrainians have demonstrated extraordinary resilience, and neighboring countries have embraced them with a generosity not often granted.
As the conflict in Ukraine continues, hundreds of kilometers away, communities in Africa are feeling the ripple effects. Across the East, Central, and Southern Africa Region, ordinary citizens are experiencing the initial effects even as indicators, and analysts, point to even more adverse repercussions hitting the region within the next six months.
In just a few days, the violence in Ukraine has displaced more than four million people. Many have chosen to leave for Poland, but faced with the massive arrival of refugees, the borders are saturated. Many have therefore decided to turn south to find refuge in Romania. NGO CARE and its Romanian partner SERA are on the ground at the Isaccea border crossing preparing to provide assistance.
