Forty women from different settlements of Moldova received consultancy and financial support for becoming actively involved in community life and for solving different local problems. During a year, the women had been beneficiaries of the Civita innovative leadership program implemented by the Partnership for Development Center in partnership with Soros Foundation Moldova.

In a conference held to present the results of the program, the Center’s executive director Alexei Buzu said the idea appeared in 2011, after the local elections where 166 women were elected mayors, which is not much more than in the previous elections. A study shows that only 6% of the women know something about the settlement’s budget or about the taking of important decisions.

Alexei Buzu also said the Civita program, which is one of the kind in Moldova, was aimed at increasing the number of women taking part in community life and decision making and who would be elected mayors in the local elections of 2015.

Civita is part of the project “Empowerment of women from rural settlements” that is supported financially by Soros Foundation Moldova and the Government of Sweden. Swedish Ambassador in Chisinau Ingrid Tersman said it is important for the women, especially those from rural areas, to make common cause as this way they will be able to become involved in community life and political life to a greater extent. The Government of Sweden over the next few years will intensify the support for projects and initiatives aimed at promoting gender equality and will encourage the women’s participation in decision making.

One of the 40 beneficiaries, Svetlana Budistean from Varnita village of Anenii Noi district, said they never had an authorized waste dump in the settlement and the people threw litter everywhere, including in the forest and on the bank of the Nistru. The woman managed to mobilize the villagers and the local public authorities. Civita provided over US$2,000 for building a concrete platform, installing a fence and purchasing four containers. Now the waste is collected in an organized way and the environment is not polluted.

The women who took part in the program were helped to develop leadership abilities. Civita helped working out and implementing community initiatives based on which they obtained grants to the value of over US$2 million. The women implemented projects in different areas, such as the construction of playgrounds, the repair of roads up to nursery schools, the opening of a school and others.