Alla is 50 years old. She was born in the suburbs of Chisinau but spent 28 years of her life in Ukraine, where she gave birth to her children, had a home, friends, and a husband who passed away a few years ago. Like many people, she did not expect the war to start. On the first day, she thought it was just someone setting off fireworks. The realization came later when the nearest military base began to be bombed, and all the men were sent in turn to defend the village.

Alla has four children - three sons and one daughter. She already has grandchildren. Only the eldest son, who is now 23, stayed in Ukraine; all the others she took with her and went to Moldova. Despite the fact that she was born in Moldova, she had to settle in an accommodation center for refugees because she has nothing of her own in Moldova. Almost immediately, she started working as a volunteer in the kitchen, where she still works now, but on contract. Her tasks include distributing food to all the residents; her working day starts very early, while everyone is asleep.

"This job helps me pass the time. I've been taking business courses. I would like to start a small business so I can support my family."

Vakhtang is 14 years old - he is her youngest son. It is hardest for him to adapt to the new reality because all his friends have stayed in his home village in Ukraine. The school and the walls of his native house are there too. In Chisinau, UNFPA Safe Space coordinator Shahin helps him keep in shape. In general, Safe Space for Vakhtang is a space where he feels in peace and challenged at the same time - it is a place where he can study, use a computer and participate in different life skills and health education sessions and trainings.  His favorite session so far was the one on medicine.

Life in the center is not easy, but in hard times, it often happens that people you never knew before suddenly become close to you. In addition to her children and grandchildren, Alla has people at the center who can also be called a second family to some extent: "At first, we didn't know each other, but then we got to know each other better, got to know each other's history, and in a year and a half, we became one family. We help each other despite being strangers, but at a time like this, there are no strangers."

"Life on pause is like that because I don't have my home here. I'm trying to support my family, but I don't know what I'm going to do next. How I'm going to live next - this pause is constant, and I think about it all the time. I want my own house, to have my whole family together, to have them all around me. Family is very important to me - it's my whole life."

Read more stories within Life on Pause series here: https://moldova.unfpa.org/en/life-pause-story-human-resilience-and-adapt...

Alla is 50 years old. She was born in the suburbs of Chisinau but spent 28 years of her life in Ukraine, where she gave birth to her children, had a home, friends, and a husband who passed away a few years ago. Like many people, she did not expect the war to start. On the first day, she thought it was just someone setting off fireworks. The realization came later when the nearest military base began to be bombed, and all the men were sent in turn to defend the village.

Alla has four children - three sons and one daughter. She already has grandchildren. Only the eldest son, who is now 23, stayed in Ukraine; all the others she took with her and went to Moldova. Despite the fact that she was born in Moldova, she had to settle in an accommodation center for refugees because she has nothing of her own in Moldova. Almost immediately, she started working as a volunteer in the kitchen, where she still works now, but on contract. Her tasks include distributing food to all the residents; her working day starts very early, while everyone is asleep.

"This job helps me pass the time. I've been taking business courses. I would like to start a small business so I can support my family."

Vakhtang is 14 years old - he is her youngest son. It is hardest for him to adapt to the new reality because all his friends have stayed in his home village in Ukraine. The school and the walls of his native house are there too. In Chisinau, UNFPA Safe Space coordinator Shahin helps him keep in shape. In general, Safe Space for Vakhtang is a space where he feels in peace and challenged at the same time - it is a place where he can study, use a computer and participate in different life skills and health education sessions and trainings.  His favorite session so far was the one on medicine.

Life in the center is not easy, but in hard times, it often happens that people you never knew before suddenly become close to you. In addition to her children and grandchildren, Alla has people at the center who can also be called a second family to some extent: "At first, we didn't know each other, but then we got to know each other better, got to know each other's history, and in a year and a half, we became one family. We help each other despite being strangers, but at a time like this, there are no strangers."

"Life on pause is like that because I don't have my home here. I'm trying to support my family, but I don't know what I'm going to do next. How I'm going to live next - this pause is constant, and I think about it all the time. I want my own house, to have my whole family together, to have them all around me. Family is very important to me - it's my whole life."

Read more stories within Life on Pause series here: https://moldova.unfpa.org/en/life-pause-story-human-resilience-and-adapt...

Ekaterina Vasilieva is 66 years old. She has lived most of her life in Kharkov. She used to be involved in the theatre sphere, teaching directing and stage speech. Then, she ventured into organizing events. However, 9 years ago, she left this business, saying, "I stopped doing it because the war started. I would organize a celebration, and people would accuse me, 'You're having fun, but there are children being killed.'"

When a full-scale war broke out, she had to leave her beloved Kharkiv with her daughter and granddaughter.

"It was a shock, a blur in the head, tears, and hysteria. Shaking hands, a child urinating from the explosions, the alarm, rockets right in front of the window, these rockets were sticking out from under the ground. It was all happening before our eyes. My daughter came and saw it and said, 'Mom, can't you see? We could be killed. Do you want us all to die?' At that moment, we were in the corridor, between the walls."

Volunteers helped them leave Kharkiv and advised them to go to Moldova, specifically to Dondiushany, where they still live. Initially, this center was not adapted for living. But literally before their eyes, they installed internet, showers, brought beds and mattresses. UNFPA Safe Space psychologists started working with them, and life began to change a little.

"I cried a lot, but along with the tears, the pain of the tragedy lessened. Of course, life comes to a pause when you arrive here, despite being fed and having a place to live. That’s when I remembered that there is YouTube. The phone was a mystery to me - how to edit, how to take photos. But there was a person who explained it all."

Ekaterina now runs a YouTube channel, which is a visual diary of her granddaughter Eva, showing her growth and what's happening in their lives. Ekaterina never lets her phone out of her hands to capture the important moments. Their center has a Safe Space where she can display her artwork on a large TV. Her creativity helps keep her in balance: "The videos inspire and draw you in, making you want more and more."

Her flat in Kharkiv is in a high-rise building. The flat survived, but a shell landed in the middle of the house, on the higher floors, causing flooding from the tenth to the ground floor. Nevertheless, Ekaterina hasn't given up hope of returning to her hometown.

Read more stories within Life on Pause series here: https://moldova.unfpa.org/en/life-pause-story-human-resilience-and-adapt...

Alla is 50 years old. She was born in the suburbs of Chisinau but spent 28 years of her life in Ukraine, where she gave birth to her children, had a home, friends, and a husband who passed away a few years ago. Like many people, she did not expect the war to start. On the first day, she thought it was just someone setting off fireworks. The realization came later when the nearest military base began to be bombed, and all the men were sent in turn to defend the village.

Alla has four children - three sons and one daughter. She already has grandchildren. Only the eldest son, who is now 23, stayed in Ukraine; all the others she took with her and went to Moldova. Despite the fact that she was born in Moldova, she had to settle in an accommodation center for refugees because she has nothing of her own in Moldova. Almost immediately, she started working as a volunteer in the kitchen, where she still works now, but on contract. Her tasks include distributing food to all the residents; her working day starts very early, while everyone is asleep.

"This job helps me pass the time. I've been taking business courses. I would like to start a small business so I can support my family."

Vakhtang is 14 years old - he is her youngest son. It is hardest for him to adapt to the new reality because all his friends have stayed in his home village in Ukraine. The school and the walls of his native house are there too. In Chisinau, UNFPA Safe Space coordinator Shahin helps him keep in shape. In general, Safe Space for Vakhtang is a space where he feels in peace and challenged at the same time - it is a place where he can study, use a computer and participate in different life skills and health education sessions and trainings.  His favorite session so far was the one on medicine.

Life in the center is not easy, but in hard times, it often happens that people you never knew before suddenly become close to you. In addition to her children and grandchildren, Alla has people at the center who can also be called a second family to some extent: "At first, we didn't know each other, but then we got to know each other better, got to know each other's history, and in a year and a half, we became one family. We help each other despite being strangers, but at a time like this, there are no strangers."

"Life on pause is like that because I don't have my home here. I'm trying to support my family, but I don't know what I'm going to do next. How I'm going to live next - this pause is constant, and I think about it all the time. I want my own house, to have my whole family together, to have them all around me. Family is very important to me - it's my whole life."

Read more stories within Life on Pause series here: https://moldova.unfpa.org/en/life-pause-story-human-resilience-and-adapt...