When the factory in which Isabella worked closed down, two months after the Russian invasion, it wasn’t a surprise.  But it did confront her with a difficult choice.  With two young children to support, and divorced from their father, she need the income to survive.

A notice on social media about a refugee centre in Sibiu, Romania, gave her the opportunity to remove her family to safety, away from their home near Odessa.  And it also held the prospect of a job for which she immediately applied. 

The Educational Day Centre for Refugee Children in Sibiu (CEDZE) is run by Elpis Foundation with support from Blythswood Care.  Now Isabella is one of three Ukrainian teaching assistants, employed to help 40 children make progress at school, and to recover from the disruption to their lives caused by the war. 

Your gifts to Blythswood’s Ukraine Emergency Appeal help to make sure that these children have food, clothes, footwear and medical care as well as the educational support which is essential as they adapt to their new situation. 

Elpis worker Sorina Pop says: “Isabella plans to stay in Romania as has everything she needs to raise her children.”