Agents of Change’s area of work is with people with special needs, and that has been our starting point when relating to Ukrainians taking refuge in Botasani County in Romania. The local Deaf Association helped an early group of families and individuals who are deaf or deaf/mute to settle for a few months at what used to be a collective farm near the town of Saveni. It’s still a working farm, now owned privately, and some unused outbuildings were quickly converted into accommodation. There have been changes within the group, with some people moving on to other countries or finding it easier to live with Ukrainians in other temporary settings. Being thrown together with strangers to live communally in a strange country has its own stresses. Agents of Change’s role is to visit, encourage and respond to the concerns of the day. A friendly face and a warm hug are essential parts of communication when translating from spoken or written Romanian into Ukrainian sign langugage and back again. Our founder is shown here second from the left with some of the Ukrainian people living on the farm.
Thank you for continuing to post these updates. It is so heartening to hear how people are being helped by the work of Alison and her team. Good luck to you all.