The NZ Herald is joining forces with World Vision to help as 3.5 million Ukrainian women and children flee their country in the world's fastest-growing humanitarian emergency since World War II. World Vision Emergency Communications specialist Brianna Piazza reports on the refugee exodus from neighbouring Romania.
As I walk through rows of mattresses occupied by women and children fleeing Ukraine, I hear bursts of laughter and squeals of joy.
Nine-year-old Diana is running around playing a lively game of tag with friends she has made at a temporary refugee shelter in Iasi, Romania. Their joy is infectious, and those nearby smile as the kids race around the beds.
It is a far cry from the unimaginable horror Diana and her family have experienced over the past few weeks since the conflict in their homeland began and turned their world upside down. But thanks to generous donations from people like you, for the first time in days Diana has somewhere safe and warm to rest, somewhere where she can forget some of the horrors she has witnessed and just be a kid again.
World Vision is helping support the shelter where Diana and her family have found much-needed sanctuary. Every night up to 450 refugees sleep here, and because of the donations we receive, we are able to make everyone's stay possible and comfortable by covering the cost of utilities, including power and gas and laundry. We are also equipping the shelter volunteers with child protection knowledge, to help refugee families stay safe.
To those who have fled with nothing more than the clothes on their backs, having a mattress to sleep on, a warm and safe place to rest, clean sheets, food, and toys to play with means so much.
Your urgent donation will provide vital essentials for children & families affected by the crisis in Ukraine. Please click here to donate now at worldvision.org.nz
Diana, her mum Ira (44), sister Lisa (19) and nephew Leonid (6 months) arrived at the centre after escaping the Ukrainian port town of Odesa.
Through grateful tears, they tell me that they are so thankful to have a roof over their heads, food to eat and a safe place to sleep.
It's a stark contrast to the chaos they left behind in Ukraine.
Ira tells me that when bombs started falling on the outskirts of Odesa, she made the difficult decision to round up her family and leave immediately.
They had already endured more than a week of constant warning sirens and hiding in cold and dark bomb shelters.
Gathering only what they could carry from their apartment, they huddled into a minibus, not knowing when they would return or what awaited them on the other side of the borders. They stayed in Moldova for a short time before being taken by an evacuation bus across the border to Iasi. Ira says they have been made to feel very welcome in Romania.
Diana's childhood is dampened by her awareness of the conflict affecting her country and that her home might be destroyed. She sadly looks down at the ground as she softly tells me that she misses her cat and her father – both are still in Ukraine. But she chooses to focus on the things that make her happy, such as her toy octopus. Her mother bought it for her many years ago and she takes it everywhere with her. She shares with me how she can change the octopus face from happy to sad, depending on how she is feeling.
Today, she's feeling pretty good. Her little face lights up as she explains that the best part of her day is playing with other children at the shelter. It's during those moments of fun, that Diana's mum, who prior to the conflict breaking out suffered a heart attack, takes time to herself to pause and plan their next move.
The family plan to wait until it's safe to return home, but their situation is uncertain – with no school, no income, and no fixed address on the immediate horizon. The shelter's volunteers are doing all they can to help find the family a place to live in Romania. Diana has no idea when she will see her dad, her beloved cat or her home again, but she hasn't lost hope.
And thankfully there is a little hope. Thanks to the generosity of NZ Herald readers, World Vision is able to ease some of the pain for those who have had to leave behind their homes, husbands, dads, sons, pets, friends, extended family and jobs.
Since the conflict escalated on February 24, we've helped thousands of refugees and internally displaced people and we aren't stopping anytime soon.
We are helping to support other shelters in Romania, just like the one Diana is staying in Iasi, giving even more women and children places to sleep, eat and feel safe.
We're providing food, heating and informing refugees of helpful services when they arrive across the border.
We are setting up play spaces where children can simply be children. Here they can play and talk and start to process their trauma. In Georgia, we have set up music therapy groups for refugee children.
We are supplying hospitals inside Ukraine with much-needed supplies to support the influx of displaced people. In the last two weeks, we have responded to pleas for help from hospitals inside Ukraine, making cross-border deliveries of essential medical supplies (such as bandages and plaster which are in short supply), mattresses, pillows, sheets, towels, soap and disinfectant, as well as food items such as pasta, grains, rice, oil, condensed milk and canned meat.
In the coming days, weeks and months we will continue to expand our reach and our work. Importantly, we will be on the ground providing longer-term support to people displaced by the conflict. We simply couldn't do it without you.
No human being, let alone a child, should have to experience the horrors the people of Ukraine are going through. But thanks to people like you, those like Diana and her family now have food, warmth, shelter, water and essential hygiene supplies to get through this chaotic and difficult time in their lives.
Your kindness has helped give girls like Diana a safe place to stay, a sanctuary when her whole world has come crumbling down.
I truly can't thank you enough.
Ukraine Crisis Appeal: Where your money goes
Your support will help children and families affected by the crisis in Ukraine with
• Food and hygiene kits
• Child-friendly spaces and shelter
• Psychosocial support to help kids cope with trauma
Your urgent donation will provide vital essentials for children & families affected by the crisis in Ukraine. Please click here to donate now at worldvision.org.nz
They were paid to target a woman embroiled in an alleged international pyramid scheme.