Research completed, my work partner and I are currently applying for a $5,000 USD grant to help us repair our office and set up an amazing telecentre for our organization's members and the community at large.
Girls Leading Our World (GLOW) Moldova
My first GLOW seminar was held in Soroca where I helped to facilitate the topics of future planning and career development. Since that day I have become increasingly involved with the female empowerment movement here in Moldova. As the 2010 - 2012 Director of External Communication I have been the driving force behind GLOW's expansion and local impact by connecting the world with our mission, activities and resources through the execution of websites in English, Russian and Romanian. I have also hosted and facilitated more than ten seminars for young leaders throughout Moldova, touching the lives of more than 500 youth on topics ranging from Roma culture and inclusion to American culture by hosting a Halloween party and several health and career development topics. I also helped to build a database of over fifty lesson plans to impact the number of resources in the area of youth development available to professionals speaking English, Romanian and Russian. I hope that these efforts continue long into the future as the women of Moldova have the potential to do great things.
Monthly Seminars for the Woman's Group
December 2010 I started a monthly seminar series for the local group of women that is affiliated with my local non-governmental organization, AgroInstruire. The first seminar was on nutrition and healthy eating geared towards the needs of vitamins, minerals and variety of foods for the winter months. With the help of two other Peace Corps volunteers who are health teachers in the schools, the twelve participants had all of their questions answered thoroughly. After the seminar I asked which topics they would like to address in the future and we compiled a healthy list. Our organization's local office in the municipality center has decided to make these monthly seminars and discussions a municipality-wide initiative through the help of a small grant from the U.S. Embassy. These monthly seminars have proven to be an excellent place for cultural exchange, sharing and skill transfer. As the meetings progress I hope to include participants outside of the organizations membership and open the sessions up to any and all community members interested in the topics we address long into the future.
Journalism Club
My partner and I won a $1,000 USD grant from the SOROS Foundation in Moldova to implement a youth journalism club for over a six month period. We conducted weekly seminars on defining journalism, how to take great photos, how to edit a newspaper, we toured a news station and visited a similar local news publishing house in a neighboring town. Watching the students have fun with interviewing techniques and get really creative with their assignments has made this project an exciting part of my Peace Corps service and I hope that the students continue their efforts in grassroots media by applying and implementing a local news blog and radio station at the school.
Volleyball Equipment for Moldova
With the help of a generous donation from Union College, the active women's volleyball team in the raion (municipality center) of Orhei, Moldova has received a full set of uniform kits. Delivering the package that included not only uniforms but temporary tattoos, sweatbands and six leather volleyballs was a true pleasure. The coach was overjoyed that his group of young, female, competitive athletes once lacking the proper equipment to practice as a whole team now has matching uniforms from America. I implore all of you to find ways to donate or ask your local school to donate either unwanted (yet still usable) equipment to developing nations. The leadership skills, team mentality and work ethic built from being on a competitive sports team is irreplaceable and the young women of patriarchal societies truly need this camaraderie in their lives. The local schools in Moldova are starving for supplies and better infrastructures for sport activities. If you have any used equipment please send to:
International shipping address:
Emily Getty PCV M25
Corpul Pacii
12 Girgore Ureche Str.
2001 Chisinau
Republic of Moldova
Thank you for your contribution!!!
Peresecina, Orhei English ClubJanuary 18, 2011 marked the inception of my local English Club. Building up to my English Club I posted announcements on the bulletin board outside the mayor's office, at the kindergarten, outside my office, at the school and even the discoteca. My announcement advertised a fun way to learn English in a less formal setting. The first class included 13 participants with an age range from 8 - 55 and professions from student and librarian to NGO director and farmer. There was definitely a distinct line between those who have no knowledge of the English language and those that are more advanced and so my English Club now meets twice a week. Tuesdays are for the beginners (a core group of 10 young kids) and Wednesdays for the more advanced group (includes a core group of 8 high school kids and one university student). I try to find creative ways to teach English vocabulary including games like "Red light, green light," "What time is it Mr. Fox?," dominoes, Go Fish! and even Frisbee.
For our final day of English Club this year I asked my students if they would like to take a field trip to Chisinau and they jumped at the idea. So in order to make the excursion educational and fun I decided to visit the EAC. My students did not know exactly what to expect in visiting the EAC and I think they left with a lot of information and a desire to learn more about studying at an higher institution for English speakers. I think that the younger students were grateful to learn about these opportunities so early but they were a bit inundated with information. However the older students were extremely excited to learn about all the opportunities and support that the EAC has to offer for applying to colleges after high school. My students Pasha and Cristi have continued discussions and continue to plan their pursuit of English-speaking higher education programs.
Telephone Book
On Monday, March 28, 2011 my partner and I began selling telephone books made specifically for our large village at 20 lei a piece (these documents only cost us 13 lei to produce). Access to information (specifically contact information) can be a trying undertaking in Moldova. Moldtelecom the main telecommunications company in Moldova creates a phonebook for each raion or municipality however, these books are very large, expensive and insufficient copies are made. In my quest to create a sustainable phone book for my village of approximately 8,000 inhabitants I contacted both Moldtelecom and Yellow Pages of Moldova. With both companies informing me that access to personal contact information was prohibited, my partner and I began to seek our information elsewhere. With several of our inhabitants working for Moldtelecom we were able to "come across" a list of names, addresses and home phone numbers. Using this hard copy we created a digital copy of the document using excel, included not only the contact information of all 2,000 on the list but also city codes for all of Moldova, phone numbers for emergencies as well as businesses throughout Moldova but also numbers for organizations and businesses within our town. Keeping the entire document in one excel spreadsheet allows for easy editing and printing (with the correct print settings). The books are currently a hot item in town and their sales will be going towards the reparation of our office for the soon-to-be Information Resource Center for the community. Doing a project like this makes me long for the days of yellowpages.com and its "Find a Person" feature.
University English Club
In October, 2010 I started an English Club at the State Agrarian University of Moldova, which consists of 20 students eager to increase their communication abilities. Two afternoons a week I commuted to the capital for 1.5 - 2 hours of English conversation. Topics included: cultural exchange, grammar, everyday vocabulary, technical vocabulary and career development. I also was able to connect all of my students with an ePal (pen pal through email) from the USA. This idea however was strange for the Moldovan students and very few continue their correspondence. The cost of commuting and time necessary for this project as well as the existing capacity for English lessons at the university has left me to discontinue my English Club. I do hope that in one semester I was able to somehow impact these students in a positive way.
