For the first time, family-type crèches at home will be launched in Moldova. People who last year participated in training workshops on the provision of this type of alternative childcare services were given certificates of participation and grants for the best business plans. The International Labor Organization provided three grants to the value of US$6,000 each for this initiative. Another six grants of €3,000 each were offered by Street Child Moldova, IPN reports.
“We have been talking for many years about the fact that we do not have proper access to child care services, crèche services and the fact that in the Republic of Moldova we have such a serious labor shortage, the fact that we have so many mothers who would like to work and combine very usefully both career and family life and because we have always “saved” and didn’t invest in what we have most precious, in our children, we reached the current situation,” said Minister of Labor and Social Protection Alexei Buzu. He noted that by creating alternative and individualized childcare services, by creating family-type crèches, parents and children should be offered the necessary support.
State Secretary at the Ministry of Education and Research Valentina Olaru said that this initiative represents an opportunity for both the education system and parents. “Crèche groups have always been treated only as care groups, not as education groups. Today, we must recognize that we educate and every parent who takes care of children knows that they educate not from the age of three, but from birth and even before birth, and we should look at these crèches not as at spaces for proper childcare, but also as at spaces for suitable development of children and for education,” said the official.
“What does a mother do when she finds out she’s going to have a baby? What does a woman who is professionally active but also wants a child do? How do we help her stay active professionally, but have the desired number of children? And here we all intervene together to provide these women, these families with the necessary support, the necessary childcare services,” said MP Marina Morozova, noting that professional childcare services will be implemented in Moldova.
Carolina Bugaian, president of the Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Moldova, noted that the training workshops strengthened the participants’ professional and personal skills in the field of female entrepreneurship and childcare at home.
The effort is part of the assistance provided to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection in implementing the national program of alternative care services for children up to three years old. Currently, only 15% of children under three are involved in public crèche services, the target of the national program being to increase this indicator to 30%.
The family-type crèches, organized at the home of service providers, will operate based on regulations developed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection. A mini-crèche will include up to five children younger than three (36 months), of which at most two children aged up to 12 months old and two children aged 13-24 months. Qualified caregivers trained in accordance with International Labor Organization standards will ensure a protected and loving environment for children at their homes. The caregiver signs a service contract with each parent, which guarantees full compliance with the ethical norms, safety and hygiene rules and the respect for children’s rights.
