In neighboring Moldova, where many people are evacuating from Ukraine, continuous support for evacuees is an issue, and Japanese NGOs are also embarking on support.
On the 24th, large buses carrying people fleeing from the city of Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine arrived one after another at the border with Moldova, which is located to the south of Ukraine.
A piece of paper with the words "Children" was affixed to the windshield of the bus to avoid attacks, and when women and children got off the bus in front of the border, they walked to the Moldova side.
At Mykolaiv, local authorities have prepared a bus for those who wish to evacuate to Moldova because the Russian army has been attacking indiscriminately recently, such as attacks on houses and hospitals. It means that they are evacuating as a group.
A 51-year-old woman who had evacuated said, "In Mykolaiv, air strikes have continued and the sirens for air raid warnings have continued to sound. I escaped because I was afraid of being surrounded by Russian troops."
Also, a 34-year-old woman said, "At first, there was a battle in the suburbs, but even where we live, missiles are flying over the sky, and I realized that they were aimed at, so I'm still there. I was scared. "
To date, more than 370,000 Ukrainians, more than 10% of the country's population, have been evacuated to Moldova, and about 100,000 people are still living in the country.
However, in Moldova, where the financial situation is tight, continuous support for evacuees has become a major issue.
At the evacuation center in the capital city of Chisinau, evacuees form long lines every day to receive relief supplies, but as the donations from local citizens gradually decrease, the food they can provide is beginning to run short.
A city official said, "We have been responding to the crisis for about a month and are continuing trial and error on how to provide efficient support."
Under these circumstances, the Japanese NGO "Peace Winds Japan", which is active locally, procured more than 1 million yen worth of relief supplies such as rice and pasta in Japanese yen and delivered them to the evacuation center.
Reina Matsuzawa of "Peace Winds Japan" said, "Moldova itself is a small country receiving financial assistance. Support is being continued with the consideration of the government, NGOs, and local people, but it is a difficult situation due to lack of funds. It is important to sort out what kind of needs there are and then support them. "
Free office rental to people working in IT companies
With the evacuation life becoming longer and the challenge of securing a place to work for a stable life, in Moldova, offices are being rented out free of charge to people working at IT companies.
The organization that operates shared offices in the capital city of Chisinau rents out facilities to workers at IT companies evacuated from Ukraine for free, and so far about 70 people have used two shared offices. ..
One of them is Lira Riabko, who has evacuated from Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, with her family of five.
She works for a Ukrainian technology company, continues to work remotely from shelters, and uses her shared office five times a week to support her family's life.
She said, "The staff are kind and you can use it for free just by registering your passport and contact information. The internet environment is in place and you can work productively," she said.
The person in charge of the shared office said, "It is important to provide a place to work first, but in the future there will be a move to hire Ukrainian IT engineers," said Ukrainian technology known as an IT powerhouse. He hoped that hiring people in Moldova would lead to long-term support.