Did you know that Children’s HopeChest works in Moldova?!
The model for partnership in Moldova is slightly different, but the impact is still great!
Children’s HopeChest partners with Beginning of Life (BOL), a Moldova-based ministry, to bring hope and resources to vulnerable children and young adults in Moldova.
Moldova’s citizens are facing extreme poverty and one of their largest challenges is the absence of available jobs. The effects of the lack of employment and low wages manifest in human trafficking, organized crime, a corruption-dominated society, and a generation of children unable to attend school. Faced with limited opportunities, many Moldovans are desperate to emigrate from Moldova to find a better life, and more than 25% of Moldova’s small population have already migrated from the country.
The resources offered through Urban Centers at BOL are life-changing! The following programs are just a handful of those that are offered through the Chisinau Urban Center, which is located in Moldova’s capital city.
1) METAMORPHOSIS PROGRAM
Metamorphosis is a multidimensional program that seeks deep and holistic restoration of young people who have suffered different forms of violence, exploitation or stigmatization. We focus strongly on breaking down the vicious cycle of poverty and injustice, building sustainability and integrating people back into society.
2) PSYCHOLOGICAL ART STUDIO (PAS)
In conjunction with Metamorphosis, PAS is designed to enhance psycho-emotional, mental and social wellbeing of people struggling with pain, fears, depression and the aftermath of traumatic experiences. Through art-therapy, PAS seeks to help people find hope and strength in their weaknesses, cope with challenging life experiences and find their own healthy way of dealing with them.
3) SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
Unemployment is one of the most powerful ‘push factors’ leading people in Moldova into a trap of exploitation. Aware of this, BOL launched a number of entrepreneurial initiatives, empowering vulnerable people to overcome the pressures of poverty, develop vocational skills, and improve their quality of life.
Art Story Shop is one such opportunity for young women at risk, single mothers and victims of social injustice and exploitation – many of which have been involved in the Metamorphosis program – to discover their great potential, learn new professional skills and become self-sustainable.
4) PLACE OF CHANGE
Adolescence is one of the most tumultuous stages of life, when young people encounter many adult issues for the first time. Place of Change is a multidimensional program involved in the lives of teenagers deprived of parental care and facing heavy physiological and emotional instability and are at higher risk of exclusion, victimization or criminalization.
Within this program, youth, from seven to 15 years old, gain role models, learn new life skills and improve their intellectual and social abilities while receiving the practical and material support they need.
By strengthening their self-image and gaining employment skills, vulnerable youth learn to avoid risky behavior, build resilience to criminal influences, address inequities, and are better integrated into their local communities.
5) WAY TO SUCCESS
Ninety percent of young people in Moldova want to leave the country, but do not know what they will do abroad, and lack healthy self-identity and life skills. Ultimately, these factors leave them deeply vulnerable.
Way to Success is a two-year training program designed to equip and empower young people, ages 16-21, to become self-sustainable and resistant to manipulation and risky behavior. They will learn to respond to the acute needs and problems of local communities with a holistic approach that lends equal attention to the development of professional and life skills, healthy relationships and habits, and the formation of holistic character based on Kingdom values.
6) DREAM HOUSE
Dream House is an intervention center for at-risk teenage girls who are coming out of vulnerable family situations within rural communities. Many girls in their mid-teens who have been left behind in villages due to labor migration or addiction, are deprived of education, love and proper supervision, and are in greater danger of exploitation by the sex industry, child pornography or heavy labor. Dream House provides support within a safe and healthy family-style environment.
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Wil Crooks, Vice President of Strategic Partnership Development, is currently leading a Vision Trip in Moldova! Want to see some of these programs firsthand (well, secondhand through a screen)?! Follow us on Instagram (childrens.hopechest) for daily stories from Moldova!
