"This financial aid is crucial for Ukrainian mothers. It provides security"

It has been almost four months since Tatiana, 28, gave birth to David and over two years since the young mother last saw her family from Donetsk, Ukraine. Tatiana was 18 when her native city was first hit by rockets in 2014. "The war started in the region where we live. We were the first to come under fire," the young woman recalls about the attacks in Ukraine, which began ten years ago. The harsh truth is that the violence of the war became part of Tatiana's and her younger sister's adolescence and childhood. "Missiles flew over us, and later, we got used to the war," says Tatiana.

However, in 2022, no one believed that missile attacks would return to their lives." People lived peacefully. Surprisingly, one morning, the bombing began," the young woman recounts. She was not in Ukraine but had gone to work in Poland for a few months. Because of the war, Tatiana did not return home. "I had nowhere to go back to. Our city was destroyed. My house suffered significant damage. My father and sister remained in Donetsk," says Tatiana. 

In October 2022, Tatiana sought refuge in Moldova at her future husband's house, in Pelinia village, Drochia district.Tatiana got a job as a social worker in a refugee centre, where she organized activities for Ukrainian children. This opportunity made her feel useful and integrated into the community. Later, she found out she was pregnant. "I tried to read less news, to work, and hope everything would be okay," says Tatiana, who gave birth to a boy at the Clinical Hospital in Balti, receiving all the support she needed from the health workers. 

"I was worried about how the birth process would be, but everything went well. The health workers treated us very well. I was constantly under the supervision of doctors, benefiting from their consultations and advice without being asked to pay for any services," Tatiana recounts.

With the escalation of the war in Ukraine, UNICEF supported the authorities to ensure that all families with refugee children, including pregnant women, have the same access to primary medical services and social protection services, as Moldovan families do.  Following this intervention, more than 200 refugee families benefited from national social protection programmes. With the support of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and through the National Social Insurance House, UNICEF provided a one-time birth allowance of 10,000 MDL and a monthly childcare allowance of 1,000 MDL to all mothers from Ukraine who fled the war. Later, in 2024, the amount of the one-time birth allowance was doubled, and all mothers from Ukraine received unique support of 20,000 MDL at birth.

Tatiana is among the refugee mothers who received this assistance. "I found out about the financial aid from news and through friends. It is quite a large amount, given our expenses for raising the child. We haven't managed to spend it yet, but this money will be very useful because the boy is growing up quickly, and we need clothes and diapers. This financial aid for mothers from Ukraine is crucial. It provides security. Prices are extremely high. Many mothers do not have money for food, rent, etc.," says Tatiana, holding David in her arms.

The young mother hopes that soon she will return home to reunite with her family, but not permanently. The war has left too many deep traumas, and she only wants a peaceful sky for her son. "I don't want him to see these bombings, destroyed houses. At 18, my hair turned grey. I want a better life for him," says Tatiana.

Since the beginning of the war, around 120,000 Ukrainians have found safety in Moldova, including more than 52,000 children.