January 4, 2023
News
After pandemic years, 2022 came with new challenges for Moldova and for the local Caritas Czech Republic team. At the beginning of the year, the outbreak of the war in Ukraine prompted us to quickly join the humanitarian efforts and help Ukrainian refugees. At the same time, we continued with our activities focused on home-based care, integration of technology in social and medical services and efficient waste management. Look at the most significant results of Caritas Czech Republic in Moldova in 2022.
1. We supported Ukrainian refugees in Moldova
Immediately after the start of the war, we have provided humanitarian aid to refugees accommodated in placement centers and in households across Moldova. We have equipped the placement centers with items and appliances necessary for a decent living and we covered the basic and immediate needs of Ukrainian refugees.
Thanks to EU funding, we have provided cash assistance to more than 2,000 refugees. We have offered over 3,400 psychological counseling sessions through our partners and distributed around 4,000 bags of essential hygiene products.
Over 3 consecutive months we have provided vouchers to 350 refugee families which temporarily ensured their food and hygiene security.
At the same time, we started to organise activities aimed at social cohesion between refugees and local communities. In the pre-winter we developed support activities to ensure refugees a decent living during the cold season by providing them with winter cloths and cash support for winter season.
2. The city of Criuleni now has a modern waste management infrastructure
To improve the quality of life and health of the population, we supported Criuleni and 2 other adjacent villages (Ohrincea and Zolonceni) in creating a modern waste management system. Our activities included the development of a waste management strategy; purchase of 110 waste bins and a waste collection truck; renovation of 7 waste collection platforms; purchase of 2 shredders for plant branches; and training of staff involved in waste management process.
We also equipped 30 households with compost bins to turn organic waste into natural soil fertiliser and promoted good environmental practices by informing locals about selective recycling. We organized 3 sanitation activities and ran 1 environmental camp for 30 young people from Criuleni district.
3. Nine people who have experienced a mental health illness have been trained to become living examples of healing and support
People who have experience a mental health illness can become valuable sources of inspiration and support for those going through similar health problems. That is why we selected and trained 9 recovered people to become peer supporters.
After completing the training course, the future peer supporters will find employment in community mental health services or in organizations providing care for people with mental illness. Through this activity, we will help to strengthen the capacity of local actors to ensure sustainable changes in the social and mental health services system in the Republic of Moldova.
4. We audited and streamlined social services for people with disabilities
To develop the quality of social services, we have initiated the training of 10 specialists who will audit 15 social services under the Supported Housing service, in partnership with the Centre for Mental Health Development in Prague.
Conducting the social audit will allow to assess the impact of social services on the lives of people we support and will reset the criteria and standards necessary to be developed to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of social services.
At the same time, in cooperation with the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Republic of Moldova and the National Agency for Social Assistance, we conducted a study that analyzed the existing social services and provides recommendations that can lead to improving the quality of social services for people with disabilities.
5. We celebrated 5 years of our office in Moldova and increased our team 3 times
In November 2022, we celebrated 5 years of work and projects carried out directly through our local office in Moldova. Although Caritas Czech Republic’s cooperation with the Republic of Moldova started already in 2004, our country office was inaugurated in November 2017.
Since then, the local Caritas Czech Republic team has established multiple sustainable partnerships with state institutions and key civil society organisations.
From 2017 to date, with the support of donors and international partners, Caritas Czech Republic has invested over €12 million in 34 projects ran in Moldova.
We have achieved all this results grace to a dedicated team that tripled in 2022. Our local team has more than 30 members now. We also opened a local office in Comrat (UTA Gagauzia) where we will have 2 representatives.
The results achieved in 2022 give us confidence that we are succeeding in bringing about change in the areas where we work, and motivate us to continue our work to help people in Moldova live in dignity.
