A multifunctional center for child and family was officially opened in Chisinau today, July 14. The institution called “Saint Anne” offers social assistance, legal aid and a friendly place to stay to Ukrainian refugees and Moldovan citizens who face crisis situations, IPN reports.
Igor Belei, executive director of the Social Mission “Diaconia”, said that Virgin Mary’s mother, Saint Anne, who is a model of sacrifice and devotion to the child, is the protector of this place. “The multifunctional center for child and family “Saint Anne” is the next stage of the response to the crisis of people in need caused by the war in the neighboring country. The people in need are those whom we address, no matter where they come from and where they go. Initially, the pandemic crisis and later the crisis caused by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine exerted enormous pressure on our brothers who fled from the war and the families that hosted them,” he stated.
The center is a blissful place for all the people – poor ones, children and young people, mothers, said the Metropolitan Bishop of Bessarabia and the Exarch of Land Petru, who heads the Administration Board of “Diaconia”. “The church invites everyone and embraces everyone as this is our duty, regardless of our religion. We must love those who do not know us, to supervise them as they have the right to live on this land and to be helped,” stated the Bishop.
Marius Ciprian Toth, charge d’affaires of the Embassy of Romania in the Republic of Moldova, said the center is designed to offer assistance to Ukrainian refugees and in the long run to also meet the needs of vulnerable persons in a crisis, especially mothers and children,. “It is a project that appeared as a result of fruitful cooperation relations between social organizations of the sister churches, the Catholic Church and the Romanian Orthodox Church through the Orthodox Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia,” stated the official.
“Many of the refugees still want to stay in the Republic of Moldova, close to their homeland, so that they could return home when it will be possible. The multifunctional center will satisfy all the social and educational needs of the beneficiaries. Cooperation is needed between the central, local authorities and civil society so that we have this joint mission,” said Stella Avallone, the Ambassador of Austria to Moldova.
The center was launched by the Social Mission “Diaconia”, which is a social organization of the Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia that has worked in Moldova since 2001. It fights poverty and famine through emergency programs, offers specialized assistance to mothers and children and promotes solidary through youth programs.
