Eastern Europe
Whether we’re responding to the fallout of war, supporting families as they access new sources of income, or helping communities use renewable energy technologies, our programs in Eastern Europe share the same mission: to build a world where everyone has food, voice and a safe place to call home.
Through programs in Moldova, Bosnia and Serbia, we are providing safe spaces for refugees from all around the world. In Moldova, our response focuses on Ukrainian refugees and ensures they have access to education, psychosocial support and basic needs like food and shelter.
One of the most marginalized groups of people across Europe is the Roma. Roma children are often born into a cycle of poverty and inequality that can follow them for their whole lives. Through programs for Roma women and children, we are helping them break this cycle of generational poverty.
In many rural communities in Eastern Europe, families face various kinds of poverty through food insecurity and energy limitations. To combat these challenges we are inviting communities to participate in our Renewable Energy program where they can learn how to use alternative energies. Participants can also receive livestock to help overcome hunger and diversify their income. Through these programs, families are installing greenhouses, starting their own businesses and building brighter futures.
Together, we will move closer and closer to accomplishing our goal of building a better world for all.
Catching Up With an Old Friend in Georgia
“I live in the village of Kheta in the western part of Georgia,” says Tamar Chumburidze. “I am a mother of three and have two grandchildren. We all live together and our main source of income is a small plot of land where we grow [bay] laurel trees, vegetables and fruit for sale. The income we make is hardly enough to make ends meet and cover basic needs.”
Tamar’s story is all too common in her remote, rural community. Many of her neighbors, especially women, struggle to find jobs or earn a living. There’s also another challenge for families here that compounds everything else: a lack of energy sources. Every day, women and children in particular have to try to find firewood or other biomass that they can burn to heat their homes and cook meals. It’s simply too expensive to try to use gas or electricity to meet even these basic needs.
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Lilia’s Fruitful Opportunities
The wonderful thing about giving is that if you give one thing to one person, oftentimes they will multiply that one thing into much more. This is exactly what Lilia, a Ukrainian woman in the country of Georgia, has managed to do in her small village. Lilia and her husband are participants in CWS programs that focus on renewable energy …
Language Lessons Open New Doors
Watching your child struggle in school can be heartbreaking and frustrating, especially if you don’t know much about what they are learning. For parents who have had to leave their home country and don’t speak the language of their new home, this challenge can feel impossible. Vitalina, a refugee from Ukraine, came face to face with this struggle when she …
A Glimpse into the Path of a Refugee
When a person seeking asylum decides to leave their home in search of safety, they begin a journey that will require them to make many more difficult decisions. These decisions can include: do you risk bringing your child on the dangerous journey or leave them behind in the hopes of reunification? Do you get on the dinghy that promises to …