Family Sponsorship starts a new chapter for family in Moldova

In Moldova, parents Oleg and Natalia raise their two young boys in a house with just two rooms. The entrance is their kitchen, and a plastic basin tucked behind a table is used for washing dishes, bathing, and cleaning clothes. Outside, a single tap provides water.

Oleg and Natalia struggle to have steady work in the midst of dealing with health challenges, and the jobs that they do pick up are unpredictable in income. Their only reliable support is Oleg’s disability allowance, which is less than €52 ($84 AUD) a month.

“The hardest part is asking, ‘What will I feed my family today?’ I want a better life for my boys than I had,” Natalia said, remembering her own childhood.

“I remember waking up early with my parents, working in the field until almost 8 am, and then going to school afterwards,” she said. “Sometimes my whole meal for the day would be just a piece of bread baked by my grandmother.”

As for Oleg, despite his disabilities, he works tirelessly for neighbours doing any jobs he can. “I want to bring food to the table for my little men,” he said.

Recently, their days have looked a bit different.

The family is now enrolled in Mission Without Borders’ Family Sponsorship program, and they receive regular food and hygiene supplies – essentials that ease the daily pressure of survival. But the support goes even deeper than that.

Vitalie, a local family coordinator, visits them regularly, alongside a pastor from a nearby church.

On one visit, Vitalie brought a few simple gifts for the children, Alexandru and Gheorghi, including a toothbrush. Gheorghi’s face lit up as he ran outside, turned on the tap, and started scrubbing his teeth, not realising he needed toothpaste. When he carefully turned off the water to not waste it, he dipped the toothbrush in a bucket of dirty water beneath the tap. Vitalie said that it broke his heart to see how unfamiliar the little boy was with taking care of his teeth.

Alexandru, 8, is preparing to start school, a little later than usual, as children usually start at age 7 in Moldova. 

“I hope I will have friends,” he says quietly. “The other children don’t play with me much because I don’t speak very well, and they can’t understand everything I say. I hope there’s a football field at school. When I’m grown up, I dream of becoming a tractor driver.”

Both boys now attend kindergarten, where they have meals and fun activities, experiencing a sense of normality like any child should.

“It’s a comfort to know they’re fed and playing with other children. It’s so good for them to have toys and other kids to spend time with,” Natalia said.

Oleg and Natalia’s family will continue to receive practical help – food, hygiene supplies, and school essentials. But they will also receive encouragement, guidance, and the chance to build a more stable future.

When you sponsor a family, you support families as they take steps towards self-sufficiency, not only bringing help, but also hope.

You remind parents they are not forgotten, and you give children the chance to dream.

Sponsor a family today and help bring lasting change to families like Oleg and Natalia’s.