A USAID-funded community improvement project linked the communities of Dorotcaia and Grigoriopol, situated on opposite banks of the river Nistru, which separates the two cities in the jurisdiction of Moldova and the separatist region Transnistria respectively. Despite their political divisions, the estranged citizens joined efforts to integrate their youth. Each day, three buses carried 200 students to Dorotcaia’s high school so that students could study their native language Romanian with Latin characters (instead of Cyrillic ones).
Thanks to the citizens’ involvement in the USAID-funded, IREX-administered Moldova Citizen Participation Program (CPP) [6], the school was able to renovate its cafeteria and provide their guest students with hot meals, an added allure of the cooperative program. But it’s the process that led to the cafeteria that’s provided the most significant success story. Long before the cafeteria renovations began, after citizens inquired about CPP grant funding, IREX met with local community members to help them lay groundwork for longer term community activism. IREX helped them reach out to fellow citizens, develop transparent plans and budgets, and hone fundraising tactics. The concrete result was the cafeteria, but behind that is a strengthened community that is now working together to identify and solve common problems.
Eugenia Gherlac, president of the Teacher Parent Association (TPA) and member of the Community Initiative Group (CIG), which submitted the grant application for the renovation, thinks the project has given the entire community frankness and trust. According to her, the lessons learned through CPP’s process are being reapplied by local citizens. She says, “Even today the community group’s representatives are meeting to advocate for decent salaries.” She remembers before people couldn’t express themselves freely and self-censored their views. “In the former Soviet Union the Big Brother decided for us, but now it’s our turn. We won’t whisper our needs any more. We’ll claim our rights.” Even the TPA is applying the concepts learned through CPP as they have started inviting other community members to their meetings. They even used the “open ballot” method to decide what problems to address. “We vote and the majority decides,” explains Gherlac.
Before this CPP project, the school cafeteria had been dysfunctional for nearly 40 years. The community grant provided funding for a modern kitchen. While applying for the grant, the community was concerned they would not be able to raise the required 20 percent of funding contribution within their community. However after attending the CPP advocacy training, they successfully raised the funds. In fact, CIG members advocated to authorities and successfully convinced them to approve 20,000 MDL (over 1,960 USD) for the project. “It’s so impressive to see the results...each child has his own cup, plate, and spoon. When I see their faces I’m fulfilled,” shares Gherlac. Perhaps this project will improve community ties, education, child nutrition as well as democracy and political accountability in Dorotcaia and Grigoriopol.
