Every end is also a new beginning. With this conviction, the Caritas Moldova Charitable Foundation team organized a closing conference of the "Emergency Appeal" (EA) project. At the beginning of the summation session, the participants recited Pope John Paul II's "Prayer for Peace" as well as the "Our Father."

In his speech, the president of the Foundation's Board of Directors, Dr. Rev. Petru Ciobanu, evoked the organization's role in providing humanitarian aid to Ukrainian refugees, who were treated through the prism of the example left by our Savior Himself: "For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in" (Matthew 25:35).

For his part, the director of "Caritas Moldova", Edward Lucaci, highlighted the fact that the conclusion of the EA project means the opening of new opportunities to support those in need. At the same time, he mentioned that the "Caritas Moldova" team faced the challenges and was on the front line of the humanitarian crisis, caused by the invasion of the neighboring country by the Russian army.

This was followed by the presentation of the preliminary results of the project, focusing on four aspects, debated within the working groups: "What we succeeded", "What we could have done better", "What challenges we had" and "Lessons learned" . Thus, the members of the mobile teams in the territory, as well as the representatives of the Central Office, had the opportunity to share their experiences, express their opinion and propose solutions for the improvement of certain organizational or logistical processes.

We mention that, within the framework of the EA project, Ukrainian refugees were accommodated in 3 temporary placement centers: from the Charity Foundation "Casa Providentei" in Chisinau, from the "St. Ana" Parish from Ungheni and from the "Assumption of the Virgin Mary" Parish from Orhei. Within these centers they were offered the chance of a dignified and protected life through accommodation services, hot and regular meals, personal hygiene products, clothing and access to medical services and medicines. At the same time, temporary placement centers provided friendly and safe spaces for children, as well as psycho-emotional support.

The economic crisis caused by the war in Ukraine has also severely affected vulnerable people in the country. Therefore, "Caritas Moldova" included vulnerable Moldovans in the list of beneficiaries of this project, thus contributing to catalyzing the process of inclusion of Ukrainians in local communities. Through 5 active and dedicated mobile teams, we managed to reach the most vulnerable people in isolated rural localities, who had little access to help and social services.

The "Emergency Appeal" project was implemented by the Charity Foundation "Caritas Moldova", in partnership with the Roman Catholic Parish "St. Ana" from Ungheni, the Roman Catholic Parish "Assumption of the Virgin" from Orhei and the Charity Foundation "Casa Providencei" and was financed by: „Caritas Austria”, „Caritas Internationalis”, „Caritas Slovenska”, „Caritas Japan”, „Caritas Portugal”, „Caritas Espanol”, „Caritas Swisserland”, „Caritas Germany” și „Caritas Italiana”.

On this occasion, we express our deep gratitude to the project partners, whose generosity has provided hope for more than 8000 people.