Like you, the team at CFAB have been horrified by the tragedy that has unfolded in Ukraine in recent weeks.

The UN High Commissioners for Refugees has predicted that a total number of 4 million people will leave Ukraine. Hundreds of thousands of families will be displaced and will require support as they try to find safety.

It is vital that Governments and organisations act quickly to help. We know that, with any forced mass movement of people, vulnerable people risk being exploited by traffickers and abuse.

In the UK, CFAB’s Family Reunification Team stands ready to help recently arrived Ukrainian children and their families when they arrive,to help them settle into their new lives. Our team will be helping children and their families to access education, health services and secure housing.

Elsewhere, many of our partner organisations in the International Social Service (ISS) network are already working hard to protect families. We’ve recently had updates from ISS Moldova who, faced with an immediate influx of refugees as soon as the war started, started working with Paediatricians Without Border to distribute essential items at border crossings including water, food and medicine. ISS Bulgaria is providing legal assistance to Ukrainian citizens including unaccompanied children, who are seeking international protection in Bulgaria or who wish to apply for Bulgarian citizenship.

We’re also receiving regular updates from our partners in Romania, Poland and Slovenia who are mobilising to help displaced children and families in the weeks and months ahead.

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