Eighteen preschool educational institutions situated in suburban localities of the municipality of Chisinau will be provided with LEGO Duplo sets and cognitive toys. The effort was initiated by UNICEF and the Chisinau City Hall at kindergartens No. 24 and 144 of Colonița village, IPN reports.
According to the Chisinau City Hall, the effort forms part of the UNICEF program for early childhood education and is designed to offer a wide range of activities to kindergartens, such as drawing, writing, storytelling, expression of feelings and emotions and others, helping the children to acquire basis skills and to develop while playing.
The Chisinau City Hall, together with UNICEF Moldova, implemented a number of important projects for children from the municipality and for those from families of Ukrainian refugees. “I thank a lot UNICEF, including for extending the initiative to equip preschool institutions with such materials. At the beginning, the project was planned to cover the city, especially in kindergartens that accepted a higher number of Ukrainian refugee children. Owing to UNICEF, the extension of the effort to the suburbs was accepted and supported. These sets are complex and sufficient to reach the children with joy,” stated mayor Ion Ceban.
Mayor of Colonița Angela Zaporojan said the best investment is the investment in children. She thanked for the complete renovation of Kindergarten No. 24 by the municipality. “Earlier, the children played, had meals and slept in one room. Following the building of the annex, the institution has now more space and the sleeping rooms are separate,” noted the mayor.
UNICEF Moldova Country Representative Maha Damaj underlined the importance of early education and of investments in the development of preschoolers of kindergartens No. 24 and 144 of Colonița. “Such initiatives aim to promote the holistic development of children from Moldova and also of children from Ukraine who attend kindergartens in the country. The sets were conceived to support their physical, emotional and mental welfare, ensuring wide and rich educational experience. It was proven that game-based learning helps the children to develop essential life habits, stimulates divergent thinking and allows them limitlessly explore, offering them a safe space for expressing and controlling their emotions,” stated Maha Damaj.
UNICEF, with the support of LEGO Foundation, purchased 1,107 educational sets for facilitating the integration of refugee children from Ukraine into kindergartens and child-friendly spaces of the refugee placement centers. Of this lot, 844 sets were allotted to 43 kindergartens situated in the municipality of Chisinau, while 263 sets to 18 kindergartens located in suburban localities.
