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Moldova, A Cry For Help
Whether it’s children who are victims of child-traffickers, or abandoned by their parents due to acute poverty, the sheer numbers are staggering. Moldova, unlike several nearby countries, has made some endeavours to address these challenges, through reliance upon various charitable organisations. Sadly though, due to limited resources on both the charities’ and the government’s part, many children are unable to receive the help they so desperately need.
This summer, a mere three thousand Euros would have paid for thirty-four children to attend a summer camp, including all meals, education programmes, English language courses and social skill training for the entire season. Unfortunately, all the charity was able to raise, through multiple sponsors, was four weeks. It wasn’t due to the sponsors in Moldova being cheap or indifferent. It is simply the fact that there is no money for anyone to invest in social responsibility schemes.
These are the fortunate ones. Still, children are either abandoned, or lured to the city in hopes of escaping the gripping poverty of starving villages, only to find refuge in the depths of city sewers, beneath the streets, or worse, at the hands of unscrupulous people who will exploit their suffering and innocence in unimaginable ways. And if they don’t succumb to the virus of poverty, then the vice-like grip of the coming winter surely will.
The poorest country in Europe, Moldova is diligently working to overcome the myriad of challenges it faces. The transition to an open economy has been challenging and there is a strong core of individuals who believe a return to communism is the answer to the nation’s woes. In 1998 Moldova suffered a further setback due to the devaluation of the Russian Ruble.
Writers have described life in Moldova as being ‘hard and gritty.’ However, despite all the obstacles, all the weight of an archaic system laden with a history of oppression, manipulation, and corruption, there is clearly a sign of hope on the faces of Moldova’s young. They’re not looking for handouts. They’re looking for a step-up. Can you help? Please?
Perhaps your skills can make a difference. Perhaps you or your organisation has equipment which has become redundant which can change the lives of so many in Moldova.
We help in the children’s and women’s prisons, we need help in the children’s homes and we need help in poverty stricken villages.
If you want to determine a man’s wealth, never look at their bank balance, look towards the people whose lives he has changed.
How may you help in Moldova?
Skills: Please see our latest blogs: We desperately need skilled construction and plumbing volunteers to help refurbish showers and bathrooms in a children’s home. We need help to build and tile a shower in a women and children’s prison and we need help to repair roofs and homes of the poor in several villages. There is a major challenge for one of the few remaining Orthodox Basilicas in Moldova that requires replacement of windows and control of rising damp. Even the local village priest has large gaping holes in his vicarage roof.
Prisons: We need used or new security cameras for the children and women’s prison. We need uniforms for guards, we need communication equipment and we desperately need medical equipment and supplies. We need qualified training and support to meet European Union standards.
Surgical: We desperately need orthopaedic hardware, bolts, screws, braces, anything. The need is so dire that the hospital is more than willing to accept used hardware, despite the potential for infection. We need defibrillators, laryngoscopes, stethoscopes, and any other piece of medical equipment.
Paediatric: We desperately need paediatric surgeons, orthopaedists, dentists, and reconstructive surgeons.
Technical: We need help purchasing computers for the village of Budesti. We have received a kind donation of a brand new high-powered server plus the pre-payment of a year’s worth of Internet access. However, we need workstations in order to provide computer literacy skill training for children and young people in the village.
Moldova Links:
Violence against women in Moldova