Tuesday, January 6, 2009

A planned "Dream Village" in a small community in Europe's poorest country holds promise for new life, recovery and economic advancement, through a new initiative by global humanitarian agency Church World Service.

BIESTI, MOLDOVA--A planned "Dream Village" in a small community in Europe's poorest country holds promise for new life, recovery and economic advancement, through a new initiative by global humanitarian agency Church World Service.

Biesti, a rural community located two hours outside the Moldovan capital of Chisinau, still is struggling to build its economy, more than a decade after its 1991 declaration of independence from the Soviet Union.

During a November 2008 visit to the future "Dream Village" site, the Rev. John L. McCullough, Church World Service executive director and CEO, emphasized the importance of creating an economy in Moldova that can sustain its population:

"In this country, where much of the parental population is uprooted, where economically active adults feel little alternative but to abandon their children in order to find jobs in other countries, where the elderly are left behind, and where many women fall victim to trafficking and abuse, long-term sustainable programs that create opportunities within the country are crucial."

The country's destroyed industrial capacity coupled with the transition from a state-controlled economy to a market economy has made life difficult. In Biesti alone some 40 percent of working age residents--18 to 60 year olds--are unemployed.

Community organizing and capacity-building to help people gain skills they need to overcome the most acute social and economic ills caused by extreme poverty is at the heart of the Biesti "Dream Village" concept.

The multi-year integrated rural development initiative focuses on improving food security by helping small farmers adapt sustainable agricultural techniques that increase crop yields, and on improving incomes for people who make a living from agriculture, livestock and forestry.

It is part of the CWS broader "Build a Village" initiative, which already has enabled some 3,000 villagers in Bosnia to restore their own villages--with built-in sustainability, self-reliance and livelihood skills becoming the mortar for new small business startups and agricultural enterprises.

Church World Service and a consortium of European ecumenical agencies, including FinnChurchAid, the Church of Sweden and the World Council of Churches Eastern European Office, are partnering with Moldovan Christian Aid, a local nonprofit organization, to develop the Biesti "Dream Village."

The collaboration typifies the CWS strategy of working with local community and church organizations to build strong, self-sustaining grassroots partnerships that are equipped to continue development work in their communities long after CWS has completed its role.

Following a visit to a local milk collection cooperative and a kindergarten, McCullough said, "I was impressed at how community members so ably used meager resources to repair some of the infrastructure in local schools."

Another CWS project McCullough visited, Livelihood Opportunities for Rural Women in Moldova, has expanded existing clothing production workshops, provided vocational and basic business education to 120 poor women and offered a job placement program. Some of the women who learned marketable skills have started their own businesses and the project now is run by local people.

In Biesti, the local administration enjoys the support of the villagers and seems to be proactive in its attempts to bring positive change to the community.

McCullough said he found the spirit of cooperation among local officials and villagers "remarkable."

In a visit to Transdniestria, which declared independence from Moldova in 1990, McCullough and representatives from the Lutheran Evangelical Church in Moldova had a rare opportunity to meet with Peter Zalojkov, special advisor on religious affairs to the president of Transdniestria.

McCullough believes that government shares "a responsibility to address need" and that it can get assistance in that regard from the faith community.

"Governments face many problems that can be overwhelming at times, but it is precisely then that government should intentionally partner with faith organizations" because the church "is closer to the people and they are more inclined to trust it. There is a commitment here to working together."

And that, says McCullough, "is what will ultimately make possible the creation of 'Dream Villages' in Biesti and throughout the region by people newly empowered to improve their own lives."

Media Contacts: Lesley Crosson, 212-870-2676 lcrosson@churchworldservice.org Jan Dragin, 24/7, 781-925-1526 jdragin@gis.net