The well-being of hundreds of refugee families from Ukraine is improved through a parenting education programme

“I found answers here to many questions that mattered to me. I felt a lot of support and warmth. Thank you.” This is the message shared by Elena (n.c.), one of the hundreds of mothers who participated in the Parenting Education Programme for Families Displaced from Ukraine. She came to the first session shy and insecure, just like her seven children. The facilitators and other mothers gave Elena the time and support she needed to speak about her decision to leave her home and husband in her hometown in Ukraine, about the night spent at the border when the war began, and about the emotional challenges her family was facing. While integration was difficult at first, by the end of the programme Elena was open and confident. She now wishes to continue the sessions, having seen clear positive results.

At the closing event of the programme, Irina Spivacenco, Project Manager at the Partnerships for Every Child (P4EC), noted that this innovative programme was designed to support refugee parents from Ukraine—especially mothers—and successfully contributed to improving family well-being and strengthening relationships between parents, children and extended family members. These families are living under high levels of stress and often cannot cope alone with the challenges they face. “We were pleased to reach more parent–child pairs, both from Ukraine and from host communities, than initially planned in the project. This clearly demonstrates the programme’s relevance and the high demand from participants,” stated Ms Spivacenco.

As a result of the programme implementation, the following outcomes were achieved:

• 3 pilot regions for programme implementation: Chisinau municipality, Căușeni and Ștefan Vodă districts;
• 20 facilitators trained to deliver the programme;
• 250 displaced and host-community families benefited, including approximately 400 children and 250 parents;
• 58 sessions were conducted;
• Around 370 vouchers were provided to beneficiary children to purchase games, school supplies or books.

The Parenting Education Programme for Families Displaced from Ukraine is a two-day course structured into four sessions with parents, including joint parent–child sessions. It aims to reduce stress and improve parental well-being, encourage responsive and sensitive parenting, and support families in strengthening their relationships and spending more quality time together in a supportive and engaging environment. The programme also includes activities that parents can practice independently at home and encourages participants to stay connected between and after sessions, fostering peer support groups.

The programme was implemented in the Republic of Moldova between December 2023 and June 2024 as part of the project “Integrated humanitarian response in Ukraine, Poland, Moldova and Romania for Ukrainians and third-country nationals affected by the conflict”, funded by the German Federal Foreign Office through Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe (DKH), implemented by APSCF in partnership with several NGOs, including P4EC.