The kindergarten in the village of Panasesti, Straseni district, has been opened after renovation. This is the 41st kindergarten in the country to be re-opened by the Education Ministry with the help of the local communities and international partners, Minister Leonid Bujor said at the inauguration. “Children need a kindergarten, to learn and grow up healthy”, stated the minister, underlining the importance of the offered help. Vasile Fodea, the mayor of the community, said the 800,000 lei invested by the Education Ministry in the repair and equipment for the kindergarten, as part of the “Education for All” Project, attracted other funds as well, including from the Straseni District Council. The total investment amounted to over 2 million lei, it was said in a press release, quoted by Info-Prim Neo. World checkers champion Ion Dosca, who hails from Straseni district, urged the adults to engage their children in as many activities as possible. “The more our children learn the more chances they have to succeed in their lives”, said Ion Dosca, presenting the kindergarten with six sets of checkers. Ala Pinzari, Education & Health project coordinator at the World Bank Office in Moldova, remarked that the re-opening of this kindergarten was possible due to common effort. “It is very important for the children to be together, to play with each other and I think we’ve done it”, said Alexandra Yuster, a representative for UNICEF Moldova, which is a partner of the project. The inauguration had an artistic component featuring kindergarten children and the band Mugurasii from the village of Capriana, Straseni. Tudor Ungureanu played his magic cobza, a traditional lute variety. The kindergarten in Panasesti was renovated and furnished as part of the Education for All – Fast Track Initiative. The project is financed from a grant provided to Moldova by the Catalytic Fund. The grant is administrated by the World Bank and the project is implemented by the Education Ministry with the assistance of UNICEF. The project contributed to the renovation of 66 kindergartens; 507 other educational establishments were offered furniture, books, toys, supplies, playgrounds; all the kindergartens in the country benefited from books and training courses for the educators; and the local administrations were helped to create 30 community centers for early education.