“Social workers are seeing children who have been separated from their fathers, grandfathers, and some of their older siblings. These children have been taken away from all that is familiar. Kelley Bunkers, a technical advisor for Changing the Way We Care, said, “Social workers are creating a safe space where children can be children.”

CTWWC Moldova has trained frontline social workers in Psychological First Aid in An Emergency and Safe and Dignified Practices for working with refugees, giving social workers and psychologists in Moldova the necessary tools to respond to the emergency.

“In the first days of the of the refugee crisis, we saw many mothers and children. At one point, more than 150 children came to the center, with only 4 social workers registering them.” Anna, a psychologist with Partnership for Every Child said. Partnership for Every Child is a Changing the Way We Care partner.

“The Changing the Way We Care training helped me understand not to approach and jump into the mother’s heart and ask her about the way,” Anna said. “They come with enough ‘weight’ on their shoulders.”

As the conflict in Ukraine continues, Changing the Way We Care and our partners are looking toward long-term needs for both refugees from Ukraine and vulnerable Moldovan families.

“During this emergency we don’t want to create a situation where there are perceptions of inequity, where people might think that Ukrainians are getting services that Moldovans are not. We want to create services that serve children and families regardless of where they come from,” says Kelley. “Our long-term vision is of a child protection system that serves all.”