Seven public associations concerned with the development of social services, from seven districts, received an automobile each, which will facilitate transportation to beneficiaries. The cars were purchased with the support of the European Union and are worth over 75 thousand euros. The donation was part of the European project "Better social services through a sustainable partnership between civil society and government".
Five cars will be dispatched to Taraclia, Cantemir, Glodeni, Leova and Dondușeni, where public associations provide social assistance and at home support to children and adults with severe disabilities and to their families, via the "Mobile Team" service. Another car will be dispatched to Telenesti, to the Christian Foundation "Titus", which has expanded the services of the "Diamond" day center for children from vulnerable social groups. Another transport unit will be dispatched to the Ungheni district for the development of the "Social Care" service. Within the service, people with severe intellectual, psycho-social and locomotive disabilities, homeless people and elderly people living in poor conditions are admitted to a specialized center.
At the car key handing event, EU Ambassador to the Republic of Moldova, Peter Michalko, said that the selected NGOs are known for the positive changes they bring to society and the European Union supports the civil society's social inclusion efforts that target people with disabilities and people from socially vulnerable groups. The ambassador said that the EU will continue to allocate financial resources for the creation and development of social services in the Republic of Moldova.
Petru Culeac, the executive director of the Soros Foundation in Moldova, which co-finances the project, mentioned that one of the criteria of useful social services is their accessibility, while mobility is an important detail that that affects it, thus must be taken into account. Not everyone has the opportunity to reach institutions that provide qualified assistance, thus means of transportation greatly enhance the effectiveness of the assistance services. "We are trying to increase their mobility, allowing social workers and public associations that provide these services in communities, to reach as many beneficiaries as possible", said Petru Culeac.
Parascovia Munteanu, program director of Keystone Moldova, said that the "Inclusive Community in Moldova" project started ten years ago and laid the foundations for the inclusion of people with disabilities. "These social services are needed by the most vulnerable groups of people from the most remote areas", Parascovia Munteanu said.
Viorica Vornicescu, Public Association "PRIMA" representative, from the Taraclia district, said that the tasks performed by the mobile teams are very demanding. Due to the provided car, the specialists will easier reach beneficiaries.
Alexandru Blajevschi, representative of the Christian Foundation "Titus" from Telenești, said that their activities support children in risk situations. Starting with April this year, the coverage of provided services by the foundation has expanded into three settlements outside the city of Telenești. The car that was offered will be used to bring beneficiary children to the day center. Currently, some of them walk 3 to 4 km in order to reach the center.
The project is funded by the European Union, co-financed and implemented by the Soros-Moldova Foundation in partnership with Keystone Moldova, the Alliance of NGOs active in the field of Children and Family Social Protection and the Alliance of organizations for persons with disabilities.
