While we were talking, the mother received a call from her son that their family home was just bombed.
Their sons and husbands survived but all else was gone. Such devastating news… “We’ve been hiding in a bomb shelter for 8 days, than we were able to flee the city, took a long time to cross into Moldova and now into Romania. But we ran out of money…”
Our team was able to secure transportation for all to Germany but they did not have any funds.
Because of your generosity, we were able to pay for every family member’s cost for transportation.
They could not believe it, they cried, I cried, they hugged us and said thank you while tears were flowing down their faces… in a battle between despair and hope!

Being at the border, and only for a few hours, confirmed once again the difference between the real world and the bubble some people live in.
I've seen things I've only ever read about in history books or heard from my WWII surviving grandparents.
It's unimaginable to me that the difference between war and peace can resume to a few hundred meters, that behind a few custom posts, mothers are waiting in the winter cold with their children for days on end, that husbands and fathers are staying behind to fight an irrational war, that people are leaving behind all their possessions and fleeing for their lives.
They cross the border only with the clothes on their backs, a hand luggage and a backpack, some with less. They are scared, confused, tired, dirty, but the relief you see on their face when they cross into Romania is genuine.
I think Romania is an example for the whole world for what it means to empathize with our neighbors.
Here, Romanians are waiting for them with a smile, a warmed tent, hot tea, food and things most of us take for granted.
It's inspiring seeing NGO's like Vital Solutions getting involved, helping, finding accommodation, shelter, transport, providing meals and kit's for basic needs.
Most people are in transit, but for a day or two, they need shelter, they need to feel safe, they need to sleep without the sounds of missiles in their ears. Vital Solutions and the Romanian partner organizations are doing just that.
This is not the time to only feel sorry for the Ukrainian’s, this the time to do something concrete. Everyone can help either by being here or financially.
Organizations and their volunteers are working non-stop here because humanity has no borders.
I am Proud to be a Romanian and part of the great work Vital Solutions is doing.”