Brăila, Romania, 3/10

Today, Bram and the Conscience International team visited a clinic run by a Baptist church in Brăila, less than 100 km from the besieged city of Izmail, Ukraine. There, they met Alena, the mother of David (5) and Anna (3).

Alena is 32 weeks pregnant and a war-widow since day three of the Russian invasion. Her husband, a reservist in the Ukrainian military, was called up to protect his country in the first days of the war. Alena quickly found herself having to make an extremely difficult decision. When her husband was killed, her church insisted she leave their home near Odessa and flee the country for the safety of her children. They helped her get to the border of Ukraine where she was ferried across to Romania. Her mother was able to join them just this week to help with the children. They have no contacts anywhere else outside of Ukraine and fear they can never go back.