Daniela Bordeianu

Daniela Bordeianu

Thursday, 20 July 2017 12:52

Youth Exchange organized by MCA

During July 8-16, 2017 MCA together with its international partners, ICCO and Kerk in Actie organized a Youth Exchange week for young people from Moldova and The Netherlands.

9 Dutch youngsters accompanied by 5 adults came to our country to meet Moldovan youth and to discover local traditions, people, lifestyle with them as well as to learn about their volunteering experience within the project “Strengthening advocacy capacities of the local CSOs to support vulnerable elderly in rural areas of Moldova”. At the same time the guests were eager  to introduce to Moldovan people their culture and to share their knowledge, skills and experiences.

During that week, young people from the Netherlands together with 36 Moldovan youngsters from 5 villages participated in a summer school in the North of Moldova. Here they had a chance to interact and communicate with each other during the learning sessions as well as at a wide range of other outdoor activities, including sports, music and dancing contests, evening performances, disco and others. In addition to that, young people filmed several short motivational movies the aim of which was to encourage community involvement and participation.

Later the journey of the Dutch guests continued in Varatic village, where they got involved in the advocacy campaign activities within the project and distributed medical support equipment for the beneficiaries together with local volunteers. In the last evening of their stay in Varatic an intercultural evening was held where the participants shared their cultural heritage, including traditional food- cooking together local pies "Placinte", dances and games. It was followed by the informal interaction over the bonfire with the music and songs.

Many friendships were built during those days between young people from Moldova and the Netherlands. And this was the reason why saying goodbye to each other was a very emotional and hard time. Just before leaving Varatic village the Dutch guests sang a beautiful song in their mother tongue to a violin accompaniment which arose deep feelings in the hearts and tears in the eyes of those who were present.

The youth exchange was a great opportunity for both sides to meet people from a different culture and lifestyle and to see their own culture from a new perspective. Moreover, it was a good chance for young people to learn from each other, to share their ideas and to support each other.

 

Thursday, 20 July 2017 07:51

Joint Moldovan-Dutch Summer School

During June 10-12th, 2017 a Summer School was organized for young volunteers of the project „Strengthening advocacy capacities of the local CSOs to support vulnerable elderly in rural areas of Moldova”. Among the participants there were 36 Moldovan youngsters from 5 project locations as well as 9 youngsters and 5 adults from the Netherlands who were in a the country on a youth exchange visit.

The program of the Summer School was very diverse and gave the participants a chance to develop and try their skills in different domains. The first half of the day was usually devoted to the learning sessions for which the particpants split into 2 groups according to the languages spoken. In a non-formal educational manner the participants discussed and compared the communities which they represent and were quite curious not only to learn about the other culture but to see own community life from a new perspective.

The participants practiced public speaking skills and non-verbal communication patterns which was both fun and useful. In order to apply the knowledge and skills gained the participants split into smaller grups and filmed motivational videos aimed at mobilizing local community to active involvement and participation.

The afternoon activities were mostly aimed at strengthening ties between the participants and giving them a chance to interact, communicate and to express their talents. Everyday the youngsters practiced sport activities which ranged from regular morning exercise and volleyball, football and badminton to the unusual waterballs competition which caused a lot of positive emotions and laughter.

In the evenings Moldovan and Dutch youngsters participated in the activities together with the other children from the camp. They took part in the “Eurovision” of the camp performing 3 songs and participated in the “Moldovan Wedding” celebration. Young people enjoyed Moldovan traditional dance – “hora” which brought together in one circle boys and girls, youngsters and adults, participants and workers.  Same is true about the Summer School which managed to unite participants from 5 locations and the Dutch guests into one big family. Youngsters made new friends, learnt from each other and shared experiences.

On June 20 -  21st, 2017 young volunteers from the project “Strengthening advocacy capacities of the local CSOs to support vulnerable elderly in rural areas of Moldova” were invited to the Edinet Diocese for a training.  The topic was “ Motivation and its role in community mobilization” and the event was facilitated by Lilia Dunai – professional school teacher, psychologist and facilitator of training activities in Social Youth Centre St. Roman. Fifty participants, aged 15-17, came from 5 villages involved in the project and were glad to learn something new in a non-formal environment surrounded by peers.

The training started with energetic outdoor ice-breakers that helped the youngsters to overcome the initial shyness and to get to know each other better. The trainer used name-games and team building activities so that to prepare the participants to further successful cooperation during the day. Young people really enjoyed the energizers and other dynamic games, especially after long discussions and debates within the group or smaller teams.

After that the participants moved inside for the learning session devoted to motivation and its types. With the help of small games and vivid examples the youngsters realized that there are two types of motivation and shared their experiences about when and how they could be used for personal and community purposes.

The second part of the training was mostly focused on the community mobilization for a good cause be it an advocacy campaign or a fundraising event. The participants made lists of action steps that they could take to motivate others to change something in their communities to the better. They worked in groups and afterwards presented the results which was followed by the discussion involving the whole group.

During the training the facilitator used non-formal methods of education and was very flexible with the tasks so that to comply with the mood of the group. She managed to get everyone involved and not only to share knowledge but also to change youngster’s attitudes and strengthen their social responsibility and motivation for change. This was revealed during the evaluation session at the end of the training where youngsters admitted that they felt quite encouraged and once again realized  that a lot depends on them and they are capable of changing the environment around them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Within June 2-5 MCA organized a summer school for young volunteers from 5 parishes participating in the program "Strengthening advocacy capacities of the local CSOs to support vulnerable elderly in rural areas of Moldova". 99 youngsters aged between 11-17 participated in the summer school activities. From the very beginning the participants were divided into four teams according to their age. In that way the activities were conducted more effectively involving everyone.

The main topic of the summer school was community mobilization for carrying out advocacy campaigns. The first day of the summer school was dedicated to icebreaking, name-game and team building exercises. Each team came up with  its name, slogan and logo which were presented to the others during the evening opening ceremony. Youngsters were also exited to learn about the Summer School schedule and anticipated the creative competitions and interesting practical activities on the topic.

The following days consisted of learning sessions, sport activities and artistic events. Learning sessions were divided in theoretical and practical parts, which were conducted in an interactive and participatory way using non-formal education tools like teamwork, role-plays, exercises, group discussions.

Each day ended up with reflection sessions. It was the time when the participants supported by youth-workers could review the day and note the things they learned and their mood during the learning process. The last session of the summer school was aimed at evaluating the activities and the participants’ progress and it was done with the help of an evaluation questionnaire.

Overall, the summer school reached its aim of building closer ties between young volunteers and to improve their knowledge and practical skills in mobilizing people for greater involvement in community advocacy activities.

Thursday, 08 June 2017 09:29

Study visit for 50 youth club members

On June 1st, 2017 MCA staff organized a study visit to Chisinau city for 50 young people representing 10 Youth Clubs established in ten parishes of Diocese of Edinet and Briceni. It is a special day in Moldova as in many other countries of the world as we celebrate International Children's Day. The visit to youth organizations gave young people a clear and vivid look on how a youth organization works, what projects they implement, what challenges they face in their work.

The program for the visit included meeting with young people from a national organization, lunch, trip to Park of Stefan cel Mare and participation in an artistic and entertaining event that was held in the Botanical Garden on the occasion of Children's Day.

Young people accompanied by the youth workers arrived to Chisinau in the morning. After arrival a group of ten youth club members together with program coordinator went to the meeting at National Youth Council of Moldova. Meanwhile, the other participants enjoyed the great atmosphere of the holiday with performances and music played by the children in the heart of the city center. Later on when the lunch finished all participants were invited to the  Botanical Garden. Alongside the entertainment youngsters participated in the discussions and activities that were organized there by the educational center Ingenium from Chisinau.

This remarkable day fascinated young people who quite rarely have the chance to get out from their villages and daily routine. Their minds were full of ideas and impressions of the day that youngsters will remember. Overall, it was a good opportunity to see what other young people do together in their free time as well as to learn how a youth organization works, what its goals and main activities are and also to find out the steps to become its member.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday, 07 April 2017 08:27

Good Deeds Day in Edinet district

In the beginning of April many people all over the world are united by the idea of volunteering during the celebration of the Good Deeds Day. Young volunteers of the project “Strengthening advocacy capacities of the local CSOs to support vulnerable elderly in rural areas of Moldova” also decided to step in this global movement and unite their efforts for the good cause. At the first April weekend of 2017 youngsters from Alexandreni, Coteala, Edinet, Rotunda and Varatic decided to devote their time to helping the elderly people to clean up their houses and gardens on the threshold of Easter celebrations. The volunteers of each location divided in 3 groups and visited the most vulnerable elderly that the priest had helped them to identify. During the activity volunteers shook carpets, swept the walkways and raked the dry leaves. The boys also helped with digging up the soil for the future vegetable gardens, while the girls cleaned the windows and washed the curtains. Such help was highly welcomed by the elderly people who remained very grateful after the event. They are now happy to be almost ready for Easter celebration and anticipate the holiday not only with clean environment, but with good thoughts. Young volunteers also received a lot of positive emotions by becoming part of the global movement and they also realized once again that it is easy to help and everyone can do it.

Monday, 03 April 2017 12:35

Training in social entrepreneurship

Witihn March 21-30, 2017 a series of trainings for youth club members was carried out on social entrepreneurship. Totally, more than 160 youngsters and adults from youth clubs in 10 parishes participated in the trainings.

A one day training was conducted in each of 10 communities and aimed to develop the entreprenurial capacities of young people and their mentors. The topics discussed included: What is social entrepreneurship and what are the differences from usual bussines; What is the market and how to analyze it; How to write a good bussines plan etc. During the training the focus was on elaboration a bussines plan which was discussed with greatest interest by the participants. Although, developing a bussines plan requires a lot of work young people were looking forward with enthusiasm. Actually, participants from all youth clubs had more ideas of entrepreneurial activities and have to decide which is the best and most sustainable.

Youth clubs have to elaborate a business plan and present it until April 21, 2017. The elaboration of the business plan and its implementation is crucial to ensure youth clubs' self-sufficiency and sustainability.

On 26th of November 2016, the annual forum of Youth Clubs was organized. At the event participated youngsters and adults from all 10 partner communities, in total 150 participants. The forum took place in Edinet, at the local restaurant that hosted us last year as well.

During the forum, the main results of the “Know-How-You-Do!” project were presented and every Youth Club presented its’ activity on 2016. Presentations were made in different forms, combined with different artistic performances, depending on Youth Club preferences: Power Point presentation, dances, songs, poems, short moves etc.

At the end of the forum, the most active Youth Clubs were awarded valuable gifts and diplomas. The rest were encouraged to be more active next year to be between the winners in 2017.

As part of the program promotion strategy, every Youth Club received:

Hoodies

Every Youth Club received 15 hoodies, branded with the Know-How-You-Do! Logo and with a nice saying. Youngsters are wearing them at different activities in the community or in everyday use.

Cloth bags

Every Youth Club received 15 bags with the “V” letter on it, representing “Volunteer”. These bags are very comfortable to carry books for school or other light stuff.

On March 8th, 2017, when people in Moldova celebrate the International Women's Day, the youth club members from all 10 communities included in the "Know-How-You-Do!" program congratulated more than 300 women and girls from their villages giving them flowers and "martishors" which had been made with love and devotion by the children with special needs from the center "Nexus". In this way youngsters from the youth clubs "Friends Forever", "Alex-club", "Formidabilii", "All for change", "Young Dreamers", "Tinerii Inovatori", "Faclia", "Tineri si Maturi", "Nicoliada", "Cutezatorii"   together with the children with special needs made the day brighter for the elderly and young ladies and elicited smiles on their faces. The ladies were deeply touched and happy that youngsters remember about them and did such a nice surprise.

The event was well known in the communities and other people were invited to participate. The youngsters themselves had only positive emotions as the villagers approved and welcomed their action. Now youth is even more motivated to conduct similar community events in the future.

More than 300 of aid kits, including food packages, clothing, hygienic products, and school kits were distributed to Youth Centers beneficiaries within 2016. Moreover, poor and needy families and their children benefited from the aid.

The youth center coordinators from the 5 target parishes together with MCA program coordinator were responsible for aid provision. The aid was provided in three main lots as the previous experience showed that it was organized properly and with maximum benefit for the people in need. First lot was provided in April 2016, second in September 2016 and the third was offered in the end of December 2016.

MCA staff together with local partners and youth centers personnel observed and analyzed the situations of young people and their families and assessed their most important and urgent needs. Only after that the program coordinator together with MCA local partners purchased and distributed the aid kits. About 150 youngsters and their families from villages Hansca, Ulmu, Mereni, Abaclia and Ciucur-Mingir received aid kits within last year.