Moldova

Community Description
Lying within a valley, Ciuciuleni is one of the largest villages in Moldova, and has an approximate population of 4,500. The village consists primarily of farmers and laborers whose only dependable form of income is the profits they reap from their Fall harvests. The only salaried workers in Ciuciuleni are those who work at the Mayor’s Office, School, Kindergarten, and 5 convenience stores.

Bleak work opportunities for young adults has resulted in an exodus of youths, who leave home in search better prospects for work in the city or abroad. As a result of this mass departure of young adults, Ciuciuleni is demographically polarized, with a large aging population and a large child population.

The health problems in Ciuciuleni are same as those endemic to the region. In the older population there are high rates of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Among children there are high rates of gastrointestinal illnesses, asthma, and skin disorders.

Serving the health needs of the community is the Ciuciuleni Medical Center which rests on the hillside overlooking the northwestern part of the village. There you will find a dedicated work staff of 8 nurses and a doctor, who work in modest conditions.

The medical center has a well, but it has almost dried up, and does not supply a sufficient amount of water to meet the needs of the center.

Project Description
This project is to build a well for the medical center.

Construction already began at a site in front of the medical center, but was halted due to insufficient funds.

Project funds will be used to build an enclosure for the well. The remainder of the work requires the trucking in of one ton of cement, one ton of gravel stones, 2 cubic meters of sand, iron tubing, and sheet metal.

The Mayor’s office donated concrete rings for the well. The medical staff has personally funded the work to date, with a $570.00 donation.

The work is to be performed by 3 members of the community who have experience with this type of work.

In addition to providing a reliable water source, the site will serve as a location for patients to rest in the shade and refresh themselves after what can be arduous journey to reach the Medical Center.

Project Impact
4,000 people will benefit from the project.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Adam Troy

Comments
Having adequate water is imperative to the functioning of Ciuciuleni’s medical center. The new well will not only serve to provide an abundant supply of water to the center but will also serve people living in the surrounding areas.

Dollar Amount of Project
$555.00

Donations Collected to Date
$0.00

ADOPT THIS PROJECT BY CONTRIBUTING THE DOLLAR AMOUNT NEEDED BELOW

Donations of any amount will be appreciated. The full amount will give you "naming rights", if that is something you would like.

Any contributions in excess of the Dollar Amount of Project will be allocated to other projects directed by this PCV and/or projects of other PCVs in this country.

Dollar Amount Needed
$555.00

Community Description
The town of Rezina, with a population of about 13,000, is located next to the beautiful river Nistru in the Northeast of Moldova.

Despite the beautiful landscape, the community has been hard hit by economic woes. A lack of jobs has left many children in the care of grandparents or other family members, as parents are forced to move abroad in order to provide for their families.

Though Rezina can boast many businesses that line its streets, including the largest cement factory in Eastern Europe, many external factors, including the poor state of the road from the capitol city of Chisinau to Rezina, have impeded business growth.

In spite of these hardships, the people of Rezina are a positive, hardworking community, proud of their town and its history. They are looking toward a brighter future that lies in the hands of Rezina’s children and its schools.

Liceul Teoretic Stefan Cel Mare is just one of the four schools in Rezina. Two Romanian language schools, one Russian language school and one boarding school for students with learning disabilities, provide education to both the students of the town as well as the many surrounding villages.

The Stefan Cel Mare School has served the community for over 12 years. Its bright students with Romanian as their mother tongue take foreign language lessons in French, English and Russian along with the ten other subjects covering everything from physics to geometry and physical education.

The building which holds the school was built in 1950 as a dormitory for students of the boarding school. It is now the largest school in Rezina with the smallest building space, serving the nearly 700 students, 45 teachers and 30 staff members.

There is a small medical office in which the school’s nurses provide low cost medical services to as many as 200 members of the community every month.

There are currently two bathrooms, installed when the building was first constructed, available as a facility for the almost 1,000 people who enter the building every month. One bathroom, for girls, is located on the second floor, while the other bathroom, for boys, is located on the first floor.

The bathrooms are in a constant state of disrepair and do not provide adequate privacy for its users. There are no other bathroom facilities in the immediate area. Many times users refuse to use these bathrooms as they are unsanitary and unsafe for students and teachers.

The fresh and waste water systems that serve the four bathroom stalls are in need of repair. Also, users do not have adequate facilities to wash their hands after using the bathroom or before eating.

Project Description
This project is to renovate and upgrade the two bathrooms at the Stefan Cel Mare School.

The specific work to be done includes the following:

• Take out the existing 2 sinks in the boy’s bathroom as well as the eroding pipes that connect it to the central waterway.
• Remove the existing sink in the girl’s bathroom as well as the pipe that connects it to the central water system.
• Remove the existing tile on the floors of the boys’ and girls’ bathrooms.
• Purchase 4 sinks with attached faucets, 4 soap dispensers, 10 meters of standard PCP piping (with needed shutoff valves, drain extensions, drains, traps and clean-out plugs), tiling, and 2 hand dryers from Rezina’s main construction store.
• Install the new tiling in the floor of the girls’ and boys’ bathrooms.
• Install 1 sink in the existing space and the new pipes in the girls’ bathroom on the second floor of the school.
• Construct space for a second sink in the girl’s bathroom as well as the piping that will connect it to the central water line. Install second sink in this new spot.
• Install 2 sinks in the already existing spaces and the new piping in the boys’ bathroom on the first floor.
• Install soap dispensers (two for each bathroom) and hand dryers (one for each bathroom) in the walls of the girls’ and boy’s bathroom.

An engineer working with the local mayor’s office will help with the construction and installation on a voluntary basis, as his wife is the school librarian.

After construction, the school nurses and other volunteers within the school will administer health seminars to all students, advising on more acceptable ways of keeping a healthy and clean school.

Project Impact
This project will benefit 700 students, 45 teachers, and 30 staff members, in addition to 200 visitors who come to use the medical facility every month.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Katie Hiebert

Comments
This is a high-impact project that will create more sanitary conditions for the many users of Rezina’s Liceul Teoretic Stefan Cel Mare.

Dollar Amount of Project
$555.00

Donations Collected to Date
$555.00 + additional amounts

Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 - This project has been fully funded through the generosity of Kate Hiebert, of Chappaqua, NY, together with the help of other friends and family of Peace Corps Volunteer Katie Hiebert. In addition, extra funds have been received for future projects.

We encourage others to continue to donate using the Donate button below, and we will notify Katie of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by Katie and/or those of other PCVs in the country of service.

Community Description
The commune of Cazangic, which includes the villages of Cazangic, Selişte and Frumuşica, is located in the south of the Republic of Moldova along the western side of the country which borders Romania. Raion Leova and the commune of Cazangic are the midpoint along a major strategic route to the city of Cahul in the south.

The Turkish semi-autonomous state of Gagauzia makes up the southern edge of the country thus making Cahul the major trade hub of the South of Moldova. The northern edge is made up mostly of the breakaway region of “Transnistria,” with which Moldova fought a war in 1992 and where the vast majority of the state’s industrial sector was located prior to independence.

The town boasts three small medical centers, a central school attended by the three villages that make up the commune and a total of seven businesses including two in agriculture, which provides almost 100% of the working age population with employment.

The commune of Cazangic has an official population of 1,751 people including 498 children (0-16 yrs.) There are 98 people registered as working abroad, which has been a huge problem for the Republic of Moldova as the majority of those that leave are in the 18-45 age range leading to a range of social problems.

Cazangic was founded in 1772 and is entirely a farming village. If one looks at a satellite map of the town and larger commune one will see a medium size enclave of houses surrounded by large and lush fields as well as seemingly never-ending rows of orchards.

The problems of Moldova lie within the political realm. Moldova has chosen a path of European Integration which led to a Russian boycott of its agriculture but despite its best efforts, it has not aligned its agriculture standards with the EU and thus is left only with a small Ukrainian market and its own local one. This has further exacerbated the economic problems which in turn increase migration, and a vicious cycle has been created.

The “Michael the Brave” grade school serves grades 1 through 9, and has 198 students and 17 teachers. Children are fed lunch provided by the Town in a central cafeteria. A recent survey of the school at the start of the school year showed that hygienic rules do not correspond to the state health requirements, because the dishes in the cantina are washed without hot water and there is a lack of consistency in hand washing between the summer and winter months. The winter month temperatures range from 30-40°F degrees in November to 22°F degrees in December and January.

The school does have natural gas to heat its classrooms but not its hallways and the school lacks a basic level of weatherization. Thus, most children do not wash their hands before or after lunch, in the winter, due to the frigid temperatures and despite the state requirements.

Project Description
This project is for the installation of a hot water heater in the school cafeteria to provide hot water for both the dish washer and the series of sinks the students use to wash their hands before and after meals.

The heater will include a 10-year warranty and a commitment by the town to maintain the equipment. The remainder of the money will be used to purchase ancillary equipment like piping, new faucet heads with hot and cold water options as well as a gas gauge to connect the piping to the hot water heater.

Also included in the total are some minor sewage upgrades required to install the new heater.

The hot water heater will be an electrical one rather than gas due to the very unstable gas prices in Moldova. This year alone, the gas prices suddenly skyrocketed 36% without prior warning leaving schools and homeowners alike scrambling to make up the difference. An electrical heater also leaves open the possibility to power it through the use of solar technology in the future.

The town retains an electrical engineer and all-around handyman to repair and maintain the school premises. He will complete the installation and upgrades as part of his contract and the town will pay for any electrical wiring and upgrades required by the new heater.

A small part of the money will go to pay for the technical plumbing work that the town’s electrical engineer is not able to do.

The project committee includes the Communal Mayor, Ion Gutu, PCV Tom Reade as well as the school director, Ludmile Justine, and the head of the local Parent Teacher Organization, Irina Chele.

The project will include seminars given Tom, a school nurse, one student leader and one teacher to instruct the students on the importance of basic health and hygiene. The first seminar will be given in the winter after the work has been completed.

After the construction component of the project has been completed, all students will be required to wash their hands before and after meals. Tom has arranged to measure how many children are currently washing their hands as well as the efficacy before the project and after the project is finished.

The dish washing machine is funded and maintained by the commune and Tom will also monitor its use before and after.

Project Impact
The project will directly benefit 198 students and 17 teachers and technical staff.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Tom Reade

Comments
This is a simple but effective project to improve the health and wellbeing of the students and staff at the school.

Dollar Amount of Project
$546.00

Donations Collected to Date
$546.00

Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 - This project has been fully funded through the generosity of friends and family of Peace Corps Volunteer Tom Reade, with additional funds donated for future projects in Moldova.

We encourage others to continue to donate using the Donate button below, and we will notify Tom of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by Tom and/or those of other PCVs in the country of service.

Community Description
The village of Peresecina is nestled between the municipality capital, Orhei, and the capital city of Moldova, Chisinau. The community is deemed by many citizens of Moldova as “the biggest village in Moldova,” boasting (on paper) approximately 8,000 inhabitants.

The reality is that many of the community members between the ages of 20 and 50 are living and working abroad in order to provide for their families in Moldova. The majority of inhabitants left in Peresecina work in either Chisinau or Orhei. Very few find work locally unless they are teachers or local government employees.

The community’s main economy is agriculture, boasting a mushroom factory and agricultural cooperative which provides services and supplies to local farmers. The other major businesses consist primarily of small stores along the road which connects Orhei to Chisinau.

Aside from the main highway, the infrastructure consists of washed-out dirt roads and unreliable electricity. It is surprising however with all of these negative factors, the people of Peresecina are very happy, hospitable and open to new ideas.

There is a public office building, used as a building for several public and private organizations and businesses, occupied by 25 employees who service an average of 1,000 people per month. Activities include meetings for several clubs, community meetings, and seminars.

The nearest bathroom facility, an existing outhouse located a 15-minute-walk away, is shared by an auto repair shop, and all of the offices in the building. It is located inside a locked fence and during the winter months this can be extremely challenging as it is up hill, through brush and mounds of unused sand, dirt and stone from the nearby construction site. There is also a large dog that guards the area and if someone is not there to chain the dog and unlock the fence the bathroom cannot be used.

Project Description
This project is to construct a community bathroom in a public building in Peresecina. The bathroom will be located in a building next to the mayor's office, attached to the post office and situated in the middle of town. The building houses the gas office, where all patrons must go to pay their bills, the public library, a second-hand clothing store, a hair salon, an agricultural extension organization/business information center, and an agricultural store.

Every Sunday the local outdoor market where farmers go to sell their harvests occur directly outside of this building. In the hallway outside of the agricultural organization's office there is a location where running water can be hooked up. There is a well with a generator outside the building to the west, and a link to the waste water collection/sewer system that the mayor's office is connected to.

This bathroom will essentially be connected to already existing fresh and waste water systems from within the hallway of a building. Three walls will be built around the bathroom to enclose it, with only enough room for a sink and a toilet.

Piping from the well into the building and from the toilet and sink out to the waste water collection tank (which is then dumped and taken to the waste water collection plant near the capital city of Moldova about 30 minutes away) will be purchased and installed.

Project funds will be used to purchase the sink, toilet, piping, wood and drywall for building walls, tiling for the floors and walls, toilet paper, hand soap, and a door.

A local carpenter and plumber will complete the project on a volunteer basis (as he is frequently in town and often having to relieve himself in the field).

Project Impact
The project will benefit the 25 people employed in the building, the 1,000 people per month who use the services, and possibly an equal number of people who visit the market.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Emily Getty

Comments
This bathroom provides critical services for employees in the public building, along with people who visit the building for services, to attend the market, or patronize the stores in the center of town. It will greatly improve the sanitation and hygiene of the community, decreasing illness and providing comfort to the people.

Dollar Amount of Project
$555.00

Donations Collected to Date
$100.00

ADOPT THIS PROJECT BY CONTRIBUTING THE DOLLAR AMOUNT NEEDED BELOW

Donations of any amount will be appreciated. The full amount will give you "naming rights", if that is something you would like.

Any contributions in excess of the Dollar Amount of Project will be allocated to other projects directed by this PCV and/or projects of other PCVs in this country.

Dollar Amount Needed
$455.00

Community Description
The village of Carahasani lies in the extreme southeast of the Republic of Moldova, 7 km off the main road to Odessa, Ukraine at a point where Moldova is only 15 km wide. The larger district of Stefan Voda itself is highly isolated, surrounded on three sides by Ukraine and the breakaway region of Transnistrea.

Carahasani has an official population of 3,000, but estimates put the reality closer to 2,000. Over 3 hours from the capital of Chisinau and close to the border as it is, Carahasani - and the wider raion itself - is relatively isolated in Moldova.

The region's primary economic base is agricultural, with the region being particularly known for its wine. In combination with its remoteness from modern urban employment opportunities, the Russian wine embargo and general decline of agricultural export has led to a higher than average outward migration rate from the district. As a result, the village's population is aging, and a great number of elderly persons have been left without sufficient care.

The soup kitchen “Concordia” assists this population of socially vulnerable and isolated elderly. The kitchen was opened June 10, 2010 in the south wing of the Health Center “Andrei Prisac”. The kitchen began with 30 beneficiaries, but now has 65 who eat lunch there once a day during weekdays. Presently, 30 beneficiaries eat lunch in the cantina, while 35 are brought meals at their homes by kitchen staff.

Isolated and socially vulnerable elderly in Moldova’s rural countryside face a staggering array of health challenges. Before the opening of the cantina, they did not have a proper nutritional regimen, and many remained at home all day.

While the kitchen now helps mitigate the nutritional challenges of its 65 beneficiaries, it would like to expand to a more holistic approach to assisting its beneficiaries with the many health challenges remain.

Project Description
This project is for renovation work at the soup kitchen to include the installation of 2 showers (male and female), a sink, a toilet, and a washing machine.

There is an adequate space in the corridor of the cantina where there were previously showers and a bathroom, but are now in disrepair. The soup kitchen’s sector of Carahasani already has running water and the Health Center already has proper sewage. Consequently, the space is readily suited to a sanitary block. Presently existing resources (water, sewage, and tile) result in a low overall project cost in comparison to the anticipated results.

The work is primarily being completed by kitchen staff, who are volunteering extra time for the project, and the PCV in conjunction with his health education partners (for project planning and seminar components). The husband of the kitchen director is assisting with construction and transportation of materials. Finally, a constructor will be paid a small amount using project funds for the installation of the technical (plumbing) components.

The remainder of the money will be used to purchase piping, shower heads, water taps, a toilet, a sink, tile adhesive, an electrical outlet and related wiring, and an electric water boiler.

The project has been guided by a committee that includes the kitchen's director, the PCV, a nurse, a health education teacher, an accountant, and a construction specialist. The mayor's office has been involved, and throughout the process, the kitchen's beneficiaries have been directly engaged in all elements of project design.

To raise the hygienic level, the project also includes an educational element with seminars every three months. The first seminar was conducted in the winter, in conjunction with needs assessment. Through these seminars, the elderly will have an opportunity to learn more about personal health.

Furthermore, this is something for them to do with their time, thus serving the cantina’s mission of combating social isolation and improving social health. Additionally, one workshop will be conducted for the kitchen’s employees on how to promote proper use of the block among beneficiaries.

All seminars will be taught by Galena Prisac, the PCV’s primary nurse partner at the Health Center, in collaboration with the PCV and assisted by Olga Ciobanu, one of the PCV’s partner health teachers at the school.

After the construction component of the project has been completed, every beneficiary will be required to wash their hands before and after meals. Beneficiaries will take a shower once a week and also have the opportunity to have their clothes washed once a week.

The washing machine is being funded separately through a community contribution. It will further help beneficiaries who eat at home, as the deliverers who take them food can also take and return clothes. The workers of the cantina have underutilized already salaried time and will be responsible for running the washing machine.

Project Impact
71 people will benefit from the project, including 65 who receive services plus 5 staff.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Zachariah J. Falconer-Stout

Comments
This sanitation project brings about large health and hygiene benefits to a vulnerable and needy section of the population.

Dollar Amount of Project
$555.00

Donations Collected to Date
$0.00

ADOPT THIS PROJECT BY CONTRIBUTING THE DOLLAR AMOUNT NEEDED BELOW

Donations of any amount will be appreciated. The full amount will give you "naming rights", if that is something you would like.

Any contributions in excess of the Dollar Amount of Project will be allocated to other projects directed by this PCV and/or projects of other PCVs in this country.

Dollar Amount Needed
$555.00