Online Exchange with Ukrainian Refugees in Romania
More than two years after the Russian full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, approximately 80,000 Ukrainians are still displaced in neighbouring Romania. On 14 March, in cooperation with Peace Boat Center Tokyo, we organised an online exchange event connecting young people in Tokyo with displaced Ukrainians living in Romania.
The event was hosted in Romania by Notorious Learning Projects, our local partner who coordinates the support centre for displaced persons “Dobra Hata” in the city of Cluj-Napoca. There, the centre provides Romanian language classes and distributes daily necessities.
Connecting online, the young people were able to learn about each other’s daily lives and culture, writing each other’s names in Japanese and Ukrainian characters to be later shared in person by PBV staff members travelling between Japan and Romania. This was a valuable opportunity for volunteers in Tokyo to learn about the ongoing situation of people displaced from their homes in Ukraine, even as more than two years have passed.
This project is funded by the Japan Post Foundation NGO Overseas Aid Activities. PBV will continue its support for the people of Ukraine; please see here for more information and how to contribute: https://pbv.or.jp/en/tag/ukraine/