World Vision New Zealand launches Ukraine crisis appeal as they deliver emergency aid to refugees fleeing the conflict
The international aid organisation has begun distributing aid on the Romanian border to refugees fleeing from Ukraine and will be scaling up its operations in the coming days.
World Vision New Zealand National Director Grant Bayldon says the organisation is on the ground in Romania distributing aid packages, including hygiene and child-friendly kits to those who have fled Ukraine for safety.
“We are doing everything we can to prepare and provide essential support to refugees. Our focus is on getting them clean water and other essential food and supplies, and we will also be offering psychological first aid to children and individuals arriving from Ukraine.”
"We are concerned about the detrimental psychological impact the ongoing crisis in Ukraine will have on children and families. We are very worried about children potentially being separated from their parents and families during displacement from their homes and communities, exposing them to heightened risks of violence, exploitation, and abuse,” he adds.
World Vision staff on the ground are reporting children and mothers crossing the border scared and confused.
"Mothers are confused, afraid at the thought that they will probably have to care for their children alone, without their partners. They fear that their children have been deprived of family security. I can see despair in the eyes of children,” says World Vision Romania’s Alberto Roca.
World Vision, who has been present in Eastern Europe for decades, is setting up partnerships with local NGOs to coordinate and support refugee hosting efforts.
The child-focused NGO is also planning to provide educational continuity to Ukrainian children who now have no access to education. Discussions are underway with several partners to support their work inside Ukraine as well.
“We are genuinely concerned about the growing humanitarian and psychological needs of the children and families most affected by the crisis in Ukraine,” says Eleanor Monbiot OBE, World Vision’s Regional Leader for Middle East and Eastern Europe.
“The situation is changing rapidly, but what we are seeing in Ukraine, as we have seen in other conflicts around the world, that there is a growing psychological impact on children and families.
“Building on our significant local expertise in Romania, we will also be supporting educational continuity for children. In conflict situations the world over we have found that this helps to restore a sense of normality and create better coping mechanisms during what might very well become a protracted crisis.
“The children and families impacted by this conflict need urgent support, and we are calling on people to help by donating to World Vision’s Ukraine crisis response,” says Monbiot.
You can help provide vital essentials like hygiene kits to children forced to flee their homes due to conflict. Donate Now.
World Vision New Zealand National Director Grant Bayldon says the organisation is on the ground in Romania distributing aid packages, including hygiene and child-friendly kits to those who have fled Ukraine for safety.
“We are doing everything we can to prepare and provide essential support to refugees. Our focus is on getting them clean water and other essential food and supplies, and we will also be offering psychological first aid to children and individuals arriving from Ukraine.”
"We are concerned about the detrimental psychological impact the ongoing crisis in Ukraine will have on children and families. We are very worried about children potentially being separated from their parents and families during displacement from their homes and communities, exposing them to heightened risks of violence, exploitation, and abuse,” he adds.
World Vision staff on the ground are reporting children and mothers crossing the border scared and confused.
"Mothers are confused, afraid at the thought that they will probably have to care for their children alone, without their partners. They fear that their children have been deprived of family security. I can see despair in the eyes of children,” says World Vision Romania’s Alberto Roca.
World Vision, who has been present in Eastern Europe for decades, is setting up partnerships with local NGOs to coordinate and support refugee hosting efforts.
The child-focused NGO is also planning to provide educational continuity to Ukrainian children who now have no access to education. Discussions are underway with several partners to support their work inside Ukraine as well.
“We are genuinely concerned about the growing humanitarian and psychological needs of the children and families most affected by the crisis in Ukraine,” says Eleanor Monbiot OBE, World Vision’s Regional Leader for Middle East and Eastern Europe.
“The situation is changing rapidly, but what we are seeing in Ukraine, as we have seen in other conflicts around the world, that there is a growing psychological impact on children and families.
“Building on our significant local expertise in Romania, we will also be supporting educational continuity for children. In conflict situations the world over we have found that this helps to restore a sense of normality and create better coping mechanisms during what might very well become a protracted crisis.
“The children and families impacted by this conflict need urgent support, and we are calling on people to help by donating to World Vision’s Ukraine crisis response,” says Monbiot.
You can help provide vital essentials like hygiene kits to children forced to flee their homes due to conflict. Donate Now.