Growing Together In Our Public Library

The story of Olga, Ukrainian refugee, and how she found the library as the perfect place for her daughter to integrate and spend valuable time with her friends.

The district library of Donduseni, a city in the northern region of the Republic of Moldova, was established in 1972. In 2022, it was renamed after “Ion Druta”, the well-known Moldovan poet who was born in the nearby village of Horodiște and passed away last year.

For decades the library has been a point of reference for the local community. Despite the need for renovations in recent years, it has always remained a safe place to meet, exchange ideas, and draw on the wide range of books available to read at home or in the library itself.

“The goal of every library is also to accustom the child to constant learning and human and cultural development,” says Olga, 35, from Ukraine where she worked at the University, who fled the war with her elderly mother and 6-year-old daughter when the Russian forces attacked their hometown in Ukraine.  They have been living in Donduseni for more than two years now, and the library has become one of their favorite places to be.

The decision to leave Ukraine was taken when her daughter began to stammer due to the constant explosions. 

Once in Moldova, overwhelmed by tiredness, Olga, her mother and daughter decided to stop in Donduseni. The first days were difficult, but they promptly received assistance from the Municipality and the local community. Olga will never forget that "there were always Moldovans ready to give their last piece of bread".

She found a job at a Refugee Accommodation Centre and started looking around to find the best way to make her daughter spend quality time. She was referred to the Ion Druta municipal library, where events for children were often held.  The next day they both went to visit it, and from that moment it became a part of their lives.

In 2023, following a technical assessment, the International Organization for Migration carried out renovations worth approximately USD 125,000 that included thermal insulation of external walls, partial replacement of windows, renovation and thermal insulation of the roof and some internal repair work. This was made possible through the financial support of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, and the Government of Norway.

The library administration has found renewed incentive to regularly organize workshops and activities to promote social cohesion among Moldovan and migrant children and their families - such as dances, Maslenitsa pancake making, and New Year’s Eve celebrations -, and in encouraging children to socialize and put their phones on hold for a few hours.

Nowadays, the library receives over 350 Ukrainian and 440 Moldovan kids every month, and Olga and her daughter have become more than just regular visitors.

Through the library, Olga has also shared cultural connections with her Moldovan friends, introducing them to the Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko while learning about the Moldovan poet Grigorii Vieru.

For Olga, what matters as a mother is to offer her daughter a happy childhood, surrounded by friends and love, and with a sense of full integration into the community.

Olga's daughter speaks Romanian much better than her mother – as Olga proudly admits - and the days of stuttering, caused by the fear and trauma of the war, are now a distant memory.