About 140 elderly persons were placed at ten social centers situated all over Moldova within the project “For our Parents”. The project was launched at the start of 2008 by the public association Concordia.

Contacted by IPN, Concordia manager on public relations, marketing and fundraising Ana Bordos-Boldisor said that each of these centers accommodates by 12-16 elderly persons who are socially deprived or are solitary. The beneficiaries are selected in concert with the local authorities. Besides these centers, the association has 28 social eateries and branches of the centers, being thus present in 59 settlements of the country.

“The elderly persons living in social centers are fed three times a day and are involved in different handicraft activities typical of the area from where they come. The centers are also visited by elderly persons from the village, who benefit from free lunch daily. They total by 50 to 100 persons at each center,” said Ana Bordos-Boldisor.

The elderly persons who cannot travel daily are taken the lunch at home. They can also leave their clothes to be washed and can take a shower.

The project does not have a definite period. It is fully financed by Austrian donors and now involves 400 employees.

The project was one of the finalists of the ERSTE Foundation Award for Social Integration 2013, which is given once in two years for social integration projects in 13 European countries. As many as 1,988 projects took part in the 2013 edition.