March 21st Report

While we haven’t spent all donations, we are getting close to it. Therefore, we are trying to boost our donation base and have joined Angel Protocol and Benevity, attempting to reach a global audience. Your help has been amazing – and we thank you! We will prepare a detailed report to our sponsors in the coming days, which we’ll deliver via email. In the meantime, we have:

  • sent aid to a Moldovan refugee center in Cahul, coordinated with two other centers in Bucharest over much needed resources and continue our presence in the main train station in Bucharest
  • started a partnership with a Ukrainian journalist, now a refugee in Iași, who will send us her stories about the war, and we will make sure they get published in Romanian mass-media (first article)
  • continued to organize psychological support for Romanian volunteers through a program called Volunteer Protect, in partnership with our friends from YVS
  • coordinated with various international donors, given interviews to local and international news outlets, and written analyses of the events, as well as appeared on TV (Hi mom!).

While Poland is the main transit point for Ukrainian refugees, over 500k have passed through Romania and our country hosts at least 50k. Over 4000 Ukrainian citizens have now asked for asylum here. Official refugee centers are at over 60% capacity, not counting volunteer families and other unofficial hosts / help. We are seeing a relative decrease in the number of refugees over our borders, clocking in around 10-11k / day. In what is a gut-wrenching fact, over a quarter of Ukraine’s population has now fled the country.

Our mission is strategic. While we continue to help in refugee relief, we have to take the long view and:

  • lobby government officials for integration of said 4000 asylum seekers into Romanian society, as well as insure that all refugees here enjoy equal rights to Romanian citizens. Legislation is in place, we will, however, act as a watchdog in this regard. This has already begun.
  • work towards educating the Romanian public in relation to the refugees and build much-needed educational context.
    • Our main idea is a project called the Courage for Freedom (Curaj pentru libertate), where we will do what we do best – educate. As funds become available, professionals will create and teach a university-level course in regards to the history behind the war, the documented horrors of the conflict in Ukraine, the refugee crisis, as well as democratic, European values and fighting fake news, in partnership with regional universities.
    • Over 50% of the funding we apply for (and all donations) is (are) directed towards projects involving Ukraine. We realize this is a global crisis that will unfortunately continue in the coming years.

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