Finding home away from home: Ukrainian refugee women rebuild their lives in Moldova

“We thought we were leaving for one week.”

When Yulia Zenchenko fled Ukraine with her seven-year-old son on a cold morning in March 2022, she believed they would be away from home only briefly. Like thousands of Ukrainian mothers crossing into Moldova after Russia’s full-scale invasion began, she hoped to give her child a short break from air raid sirens and constant fear. She never imagined that one week would become years.

Since February 2022, the Republic of Moldova has recorded more than two million border crossings from Ukraine. As of January 2026, nearly 140,000 Ukrainian refugees continue to live in the country, according to UNHCR Moldova.

“Even in the most pessimistic scenarios, I never thought we would stay outside Ukraine for more than a year,” Zenchenko recalls. “In the beginning, there were many challenges. Our legal status was uncertain, it was difficult to enrol my child in school because of differences in the curriculum, and we faced serious financial difficulties.”

She returned briefly to Ukraine four months later, but by then, life had already begun to take shape in Moldova. Like many refugee families, she had built new routines, restarted her career, and enrolled her son in school, gradually paving the way for a new life. 

Months turned into years 

Before the war, Yulia Zenchenko had worked as a marketing director. Starting over in Moldova meant rebuilding her career from scratch.  

During her first months in the country, she earned a living by delivering training sessions on creative thinking while supporting projects led by local organizations working with refugees. At the same time, she volunteered, organizing meetings for Ukrainian women and participating in consultations with public institutions.

“Many women were facing the same challenges and asking the same questions. It became clear that informal support was no longer enough. We needed something more structured,” she says. 

Together with fellow Ukrainian refugee Olga Stus, she founded “Female Support Force,” a network created to ensure refugee women were not only consulted but also represented by people who shared their experiences and understood their needs.

The organization was officially registered in October 2023 with support from UN Women.

From volunteers to a trusted organization

For its first eight months, “Female Support Force” operated entirely on volunteers and responded to the growing needs of refugee women. 

“The pressure was constant, and resources were scarce. When UN Women and the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund provided institutional support, everything changed,” Zenchenko recalls.

This funding allowed the organization to consolidate its internal systems, expand its activities, and provide more consistent and professional services. 

“By supporting initiatives like this, we are advancing a vision where displaced women are not only protected but empowered, where civil society is recognized as an indispensable partner, and where peace, gender equality, and social cohesion are built from the community level upward”, says Dominika Stojanoska, UN Women Moldova Country Representative. 

Today, “Female Support Force” has 11 core team members supported by volunteers, trainers, and a growing network of partners. “Institutional grants helped us survive funding gaps while preserving the knowledge, relationships, and trust we had built within the community,” Zenchenko says. 

Currently, the organization runs two major projects: one focused on staff capacity building, and another helping refugee women to integrate economically and socially in Moldova.

Delivering essential support to refugee women

Over the past two years, “Female Support Force” has provided direct assistance to more than 5,000 refugees. Around 2,000 people have received legal support, including access to free lawyers, while approximately 1,000 have benefited from psychological services. More than 500 people have participated in educational programmes and employment counselling, with women making up 80 per cent of participants.  

Beyond direct support, the organization has become an important advocate for refugee rights. It has organized more than 35 roundtables and taken part in numerous consultations with government institutions and national stakeholders. One of its key achievements was signing a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Ministry of Education, helping simplify school admission procedures for refugee children and reducing administrative barriers for families.

“Working in the non-profit sector felt like a natural fit because it gave us a chance to influence policy,” says the co-founder, Olga Stus. 

The organization has also contributed recommendations to legislation on refugee integration and temporary protection. “We continue to advocate for better access to employment, health insurance, and social protection for refugee women,” Zenchenko explains. 

A respected voice for refugee women

“Female Support Force” has grown from a grassroots initiative to a respected advocate for Ukrainian refugee women and girls in Moldova. 

The organization contributed to the Refugee Response Plan 2025-2027, took part in discussions on amendments to the Law on Temporary Protection, and supported the development of the Education Integration Roadmap for refugee children. 

Internally, Female Support Force introduced key governance and accountability policies covering protection from sexual exploitation and abuse, financial management, and procurement. 14 Ukrainian refugee women, including staff members and volunteers, also received training in project management, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.

These investments have already delivered results. The organization secured additional programme funding, including a USD 95,000 grant from the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund. 

For Zenchenko and thousands of women like her, Moldova was meant to be a temporary stop. Instead, it became a place where they found safety, rebuilt their lives, and created new opportunities for themselves and others. “In Moldova, I went from being a humanitarian aid applicant to the director of my own organization,” concludes Yulia Zenchenko.