Rehabilitation and support for Ukrainian refugees in the Republic of Moldova

“In Moldova, we found peace, we found tranquility and a welcoming home. There are no bombs falling. It is quiet. I feel fulfilled. I want to build a future in Moldova. Here, at the hardest moment of our lives, we have found everything we need: love, warmth and care,” says Alina Rodina.

Alina left the Kharkiv region with her son Daniil and daughter, Milana, shortly after the war in Ukraine began. They lived in a refugee center before finding accommodation as a family in the Drochia district in the Republic of Moldova. Daniil, the youngest at age 7, was born with neurological problems that made it hard for him to understand and integrate.

The family struggled to know how to support Daniil and meet his needs, before they took him to the Republican Rehabilitation Center for Children in the municipality of Chisinau. There he was provided with physical, psycho-verbal and rehabilitation services - a holistic approach that worked both with Daniil’s special needs and with his family.

The connection was made possible through the WHO Country Office in the Republic of Moldova, which coordinates the UN intersectoral working group on health and nutrition.

Achieving results

"We were happy to meet Daniil and his family. But we were even happier to be able to help him regain the skills to eat alone, use cutlery, brush his teeth and show his beautiful emotions to those at home," says Ecaterina Gincota, head of the Republican Rehabilitation Center for Children.

After establishing a diagnosis, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, educational psychologists and speech therapists worked with Daniil step by step, encouraging him, giving him space to express himself, to make mistakes, to try again. Following this approach, results were not long in coming. 

Work was also done with the family, offering clear ways to manage Daniil’s behavioral crises and establish a daily activity schedule. Daniil also caught up with the routine childhood vaccinations that he was missing.

"Things have changed a lot for the better since our first meeting with Daniil. The whole family understands him better now and he is more receptive and happier," reports Tatiana Cebanica, educational psychologist, and head of the Psycho-Verbal Rehabilitation and Social Assistance Section, Republican Rehabilitation Center for Children.

Parents and specialists at the Center joined forces to help empower Daniil. The family decided that he would be monitored remotely by specialists, benefiting from the most modern and effective techniques. Now, he can maintain his attention for several minutes on an object or an activity and do many things on his own.

Seen and heard

Thanks to the efforts of the specialists, supported by the WHO through the provision of state-of-the-art equipment and training, Daniil is now seen differently, not only by his own parents, but also by the community. He is a confident, curious child, capable of learning and being part of society. 

For Daniil and his family, the Rehabilitation Center was the place where they were encouraged to fight for a different future. 

“Every child deserves to be seen and heard, and to develop at their own pace, with all the support they need”, stressed Dr Miljana Grbic, WHO Representative in the Republic of Moldova.

Daniil's family received vital assistance from the WHO Moldova team, thanks to the support of the government of Austria and the European Union, which contributes to strengthening rehabilitation and social support services in the Republic of Moldova.