Doina

She loves her after-school program.

Young Doina doesn’t have many luxuries in life. She lives in an old home in Moldova with no gas or running water. Water is fetched from a well 100 meters away from the house.

The oldest child of two parents with mild mental disabilities, Doina is often tasked with the care of her younger siblings, as well as helping her mother with household chores and cooking. Despite this and her family’s low income— about £22 per month when her father is able to find work—Doina continues to go to school.

Doina also attends a ChildAid to Eastern Europe after-school program. ChildAid provides places of refuge, fellowship, and childhood for children living in vulnerable families. Through ChildAid, Doina receives help with her homework and academic mentoring by teachers, plus access to dance, English, and health classes.

Doina says of her time in the after-school program:

“Here I can feel free… I love my peers and my teachers. These people make our days more interesting.”

Donate to ChildAid to Eastern Europe to help more children like Doina.

This is a story from GlobalGiving’s “Voices from the Crowd” series.