Cantemir and Ungheni Container Distributions





Happy family, Hinson's, Victor Corovei

 







NGO'S at distribution of container

  




Little boy getting new coat

  





boy receives school kit

  




young adults

 




Grandparents taking care of grandchildren get new quilts



    The village of Ungheni is located in the far western region of Moldova. Ungheni is agricultural. Most all the villagers rely on produce grown locally and sold in Moldova and Russia. The village of Cantemir is located in the southern part of Moldova. Cantemir was home to a big canning operation that was shut down about 5 years ago. Many were left unemployed and no other industry exists for this area. Both villages have many unemployed. Families survive day to day. Many help and share with each other. When one family receives food, they tend to share it with their neighbors. This was a touching experience for us. We visited 2 families that were receiving clothing, quilts, school kits, and hygiene kits. Both had substantial needs. When you see the children in these families you struggle to maintain your composure. You must always remember, “My life cannot implement in action, the demands of all the people to whom my heart responds." We also visited a temporary dormitory for young adults whose parents are working out of the country. This facility gives these young people a place to stay (home), while they are in school and they also help them find jobs upon completing their education. We left school kits, hygiene kits, and quilts for these young people.

Ermoclia Celebration



old tanks





old transformers



meeting with city officials

Lidia Jubea-NGO

contract signing ceremony

villagers at contract signing

pouring of tank foundation

finished foundation

laying poly-pipe

trenching in village

sealing poly-pipe

adding collar for hookup

trench by villager to home

new tanks

traditional welcome with bread and salt

Elder Hinson eating bread and salt

Elder Hinson, Argentin, speaking at ceremony

Pres. of Raion speaking at ceremony

villager expressing gratitude for clean water

ribbon ceremony

contractor, Mayor, Hinson's, Lidia, Pres. and Vice Pres. of Raion

water in school

water in school kitchen

water in home

dinner at end of ceremony

Ermoclia was the 1st water project that we were involved in here in Moldova. We are very happy that this project has been completed. The tanks are raised, the water pipe lines are installed, valve boxes, electrical panels and all the other materials are in place. There is running water to homes and the schools on the main village streets. As the water net grows more homes and businesses will be able to connect. We had a big closing ceremony for this project. The villagers all come out and we had a huge celebration. The Mayor, Raion President, Raion Vice President, Director of Ermoclia High School, Media, and other dignitaries were present. There was singing, dancing, and happy people. We had the ribbon cutting ceremony at the tanks, and then we took a tour of the village to see that there really was running water in the school and homes. One lady was very generous and let us use her beautiful bathroom!!! After the tour we had a feast fit for kings and queens. What a wonderful day it was and our hearts were full of gratitude to everyone that donates to the humanitarian fund. We truly see lives changed and burdens lifted through this work. Its has been a wonderful blessing in our lives to be apart of this great effort

Municipal Hospital

old beds and mattress

Dr. Lupu, Hinson's, Director  of Ophthalmology

new beds, mattress

new cabinets

patients with new beds, mattress, and cabinets

hospital room with new beds, mattress, and cabinets

We provided 40 beds,40 Mattresses and 40 small utility cabinets to the Chisinau Municipal Hospital. This hospital treats approximately 40 patients per week with eye related disorders. (Cataracts, Glaucoma, etc.) The beds, mattresses and small storage cabinets will benefit 2000 patients per year. The old beds were in despicable condition. The old mattresses could not be properly cleaned and there are no storage areas for the patients’ personal belongings. This donation will raise the spirits of those being treated as well as the doctors who assist them.

School 145

School 145 is another kindergarten in Chisinau that was in great need of new tables and chairs. LDS Charities provided 18 tables and 108 chairs for this school. The children loved their new table and chairs so much the teachers said that when the parents came to pick the children up that the children didn’t want to go home, they wanted to stay and sit in their new chairs. We had such a good time at the closing ceremony for this school. The children put on a wonderful fall celebration with singing and dancing, and they asked Elder Hinson and me to participate. We learned a Moldovan dance. Great Fun!!!

Balabanesti Ceremony

We just finished the closing ceremony for the Balabanesti School. This school currently has 80 children between the ages of two and seven. They have 4 classrooms with about 20 children in each room. LDS Charities donated 16 tables and 80 chairs. The Mayor's Office replaced several windows and doors at the school. The Mayor also initiated a project to provide running water in the school. The school staff and community had to clean, paint, and repair the facility. It was wonderful to partner with this community in bringing this school back into working condition.

Cresa Kindergarten

The Creşa (Cresa means day care for children) Kindergarten is in a small village in northern Moldova. This facility is over 100 years old. It serves 30-40 children from a year and half to three years of age. Four well-trained educators teach and care for these children. There are also community volunteers who regularly work at the school each day. There is no running water in the school. Most of the volunteers remembered the same beds, furniture and toys from when they attended Creşa Kindergarten as children. The chairs and tables are unstable and coming apart and pose safety hazards of the children. Many chairs have no back supports left in them. During nap time, the kindergarten children are placed four to a bed. These children come from homes where 70% of the mothers and fathers work out of the country in order to support their families. Many of these parents will likely not return to Moldova, and these children will be raised by relatives.
These low-income families are required to pay a fee each year for materials and minor repairs but unfortunately, it is not enough money buy new furniture. LDS Charities is donating 8 tables, 30 chairs, 5 lockers and 2 storage cabinets. Local villagers were able to repair the leaking roof, fix windows and repaint the interior of the school house. They did this at no charge to the school.
The ceremony celebrating the new furniture and repairs was held on July 11. The children put on a program for us. We were greeted by the mayor and many community leaders, who thanked us very sincerely for the Church’s donation.

Drochia Ariadna Mothers Shelter

Drochia Ariadna Mother's Shelter

This mother's shelter in northern Moldova is one of 3 shelters that assist women who have been victims of human trafficking. This is a major problem here in Moldova. Young women are enticed by what they think is an employment opportunity in another country. With the terribly depressed economic situation here in Moldova (the worst in Eastern Europe), many young women fall victim to those who would lure them out of the country for imaginary jobs only to be sold into slavery. Once taken out of the country, all their papers are taken, passports and any identification they have with them. This makes crossing borders virtually impossible. Their captors use this to isolate them and make their return seam hopeless. Many are kept in compounds so as to be available when needed. There are many young women who never return. Some of these unfortunate women make it back, but they have nothing, especially if it was their own family that initiated their tragic situation. This center plays a vital role for the few who make it back. They teach them basic skills as sewing, cooking and basic food preparation. Many will return with children, for obvious reasons. Their exposure to motherhood as you would imagine, was not a good experience.

The young lady in this slide show is Lynn (not her real name). She was taken to Russia where a group of Armenian men took possession of her. She left at age 17. She is now 19, with a small dark-skinned child to care for. Today, she has a chance to be reintegrated into as normal a life as Moldova can offer. Simeon, the director of the Drochia Shelter, is a former medical doctor who is now devoting his life to helping these women.

LDS Charities provided a donation to replace all the broken bed frames with metal bed frames for the adults and the children. New mattresses were also purchased. We also installed new cabinets and storage drawers for their kitchen area, where the mothers learn food preparation and how to properly care for their children.

Shoe Factory

Earlier this year we visited the Shoe Shop for the Society of the Disabled. We were so impressed with the work that these people do and the quality of the shoes they make on old antique sewing machines. We wanted to help this shoe shop and were excited when this project was approved. We were able to provide 5 new machines. (2 single stitch, 1 double stitch, 1 flat bed, and 1 skiving machine.) I have posted pictures of the old machines, and also the new machines. Constantine and his wife were so excited about the new machines. This will make their work so much easier, and they will be able to produce more shoes faster with better quality. By the way they can make any shoe you want, you just have to go in and have your foot measured.