• Romania’s lifesaving vouchers

Australian officer and Eastern Europe Territory Commander, Lieut-Colonel Kelvin Pethybridge (centre) and Major Ionuts Sandu, Romania Divisional Commander, join The Salvation Army team distributing vouchers for children at RomExpo.

The Romania Division of the Eastern Europe Territory has officially assisted more than 25,000 Ukrainian children through its unique voucher program.

Salvation Army teams at RomExpo Exhibition Centre, the largest centre in Romania, have distributed more than 100,000 vouchers for children to parents and carers fleeing the war in Ukraine. These vouchers are used for food, clothing, school supplies and other essential items for children.

This project has been recognised as best practice and implemented in other countries of the EET – Bulgaria, Georgia and Moldova.

Australian officer, Major Darren Elsley (right) was part of the team at RomExpo for eight weeks last year.

A Salvation Army international conference focusing on the rapid response to the war in Ukraine earlier this year also recognised the effectiveness of the program.

Bucharest City awarded The Salvation Army a special diploma from its Social Assistance Office for responding to the refugee crisis as an effective long-term social work project.

Salvation Army teams have been assisting Ukrainian refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) in Ukraine since the early hours of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022.