What's up Amy?

I don't often post about my work, and this last month I've not posted at all because I've been busy doing it, but guys, it's interesting what I do out here, and y'all should know about it.

Let's start from the top.
Last I wrote about newspapers and womens' weeks. Both those things fell through as both are linked to the same organization, the original partners I was assigned to. My parents didn't raise a quitter, so I tried to make it work with these women. I stressed the importance of involving a local partner with the youth newspaper, that I shouldn't be running it on my own because I'm only temporarily here. They made like they understood, but no changes were made. Ultimately, it was the irresponsibility of the youth themselves that made it easier for me to step away from the project. I was solely supporting the youth staff, working with them, laughing and on occasion crying with them. They love(d) me and respect(ed) me, but when it came time to getting work done, they didn't hold up their end of the deal. I was getting sick of no one following deadlines and making up bullshit excuses for why work wasn't getting done, and I decided I wasn't going to be running after Moldova's youth if the Moldovan adults don't care to themselves. As community development volunteers, our role is to assist in sustainable projects, not have it all on our shoulders, because when we leave, who will continue it? As I told people here, when I go back to the States, a small town youth newspaper in Moldova will not be important to me, but for the town, it's important for their children, so its the town's responsibility to keep it going, not mine.

I desperately looked for a local partner for this newspaper initiative, but for free no one was willing to work with the youth staff, the teachers and school directors already did not support the project (repeatedly mocking the kids who I felt were brave pioneers that they were wasting their time with this silly little newspaper,) and while people do have time to watch television from the moment they get home from work, no one had time for these kids. The library said they'd help, but there was little movement from their end, it was still me. When the last issue was supposed to be finished and printed by Valentine's day, mysteriously the newspaper editor and other staff members had disappeared; not answering my phone calls as deadlines rolled in. I felt personally hurt as I always answered their phone calls, often inviting them over to tea for hours. But then I was pissed off and decided that it would be a greater lesson of responsibility to the kids if I drop them (as any real boss in the real world would if people didn't follow through on their work) than if I was to just scold them again for the millionth time, like a mother, and make empty threats. I think my message was understood clearly, because the kids feel very guilty and sad when we meet around town, knowing that they dropped the bomb on their own project.

Three months late, the remaining staff members did eventually put out the Valentine's Day issue, but as the Easter issue. The kids wearily called me to come and see it. It was okay. I told them good job, asked them their plan to sell the paper (another problem that frustrated me with the group; producing and paying for printing of papers, and then NOT selling even half of them,) and I wished them luck in the future. They're working without any adult help. I do wish them luck.

Women's Week is something boring I don't feel like talking about. Long story short, the first year I had just arrived to town and we did Women's week because Amy wanted to. This year, I was ready to take a back seat and have the women run it themselves (sustainability) but help them with whatever needed to get done. This tactic proved that if Amy doesn't insist on meeting to plan the week, the week wouldn't happen. The days we did meet for planning were rushed and done for my benefit, not theirs. The week was more like 2.5 half-assed days that no one heard or cared about. It proved that last year, the week was done for me, not for the town's women. So if they don't need it, I definitely don't need it. Ultimately, the problem I had with the women in terms of both the newspaper and the women's org was that the work was expected to get done, grants were expected to be won, but no one was willing to put in the time. It was like pushing against a brick wall to get anything done with them, so without burning any bridges or causing any conflicts, I simply no longer see these women, and have since moved my energy elsewhere.

I've always written about the sport school and the director and my aerobics class, so my involvement there is nothing new. But in the last few months, the director and I have been working hard to turn the sport school into a community center. With renovations, updated facilities, and new equipment, the building is a perfect spot for families and youth to come together, exercise, meet, and have a healthy alternative to all the bars in town. The club will be YMCA/JCC style with members paying fees that will go back to the development of the club. (If women pay 70Lei a month for aerobics ($7) and no shower facilities, then we're confident people will be willing to pay 100Lei/month when there will be showers, non-smoking/non-alcoholic cafe, table tennis, billiards, weights, etcetera.) We've been doing a lot of planning, cost-analysis, and contract writing. We got the local government to (financially) contribute to the construction and with that, I wrote a grant and we won $3,000 to build the showers in the building. We will need more than that, the whole project costs $20,000, but with local sponsors, the grant, and the government's help, $10,000 of the project should be done this summer. It's an excellent start. The opening for the club is tentatively September. (My personal goal is to have the opening when my mamachka will be in town. Aww...)

The other project I'm doing fell into my hands, but I do believe it's fate. I'm working in the raion (district) city next to mine on an important project. It's about the Holocaust. From an e-mail I've written to a friend:
"My second project is erecting Holocaust monuments throughout the north of Moldova. The reason for this project isn't because I'm an American Jew and thinks it's important (though I am and I do) but because people in Moldova have NO IDEA about the Holocaust. If you were to open a high school history text book here to World War 2 there is ABSOLUTELY no mention of the Holocaust. It shocked me that people who I respect here had never heard of the genocide that happened on their land. From youth to people our parents age- there is absolutely no knowledge about it because the Soviet Union didn't think it was important, and neither does the current Moldovan government. This initiative hopes to not only commemorate and educate, but also to promote tolerance through summer camps and schools. I'm working with a historian (who is Moldovan, and this idea is actually his) and the American Embassy. I'm going to be soliciting donations from America. Each monument will cost between $1,000 - $2,000, and Yuri, the historian, has 40 spots throughout the north marking mass murders, death marches, and ghettos, with three monuments already erected. The other forgotten, but also important fact was that the killings here were not done by Germans, but rather by the Romanians- who murdered Jews enthusiastically. I know a lot of American and Israeli Jews have roots from Bessarabia (Moldova,) and I'm hoping people will see the importance of this project, not just for Jews, but for society." Yesterday my partners and I met with Dr. Radu Ioanid, and a visit from Father Desbois is in the works, so this project is beginning to take off. I'll be sending a letter to America soon, so keep checking in for more information on this second project.

Finally, I'm also taking over as the President of the Peace Corps group MoldovaTIP (Trafficking in Persons.) This group promotes volunteers acting as an important connection between the larger anti-trafficking organizations and actual citizens, by coordinating seminars, trainings, and movie events. Also, Lumina Pentru Toti (Light for All,) the PC diversity initiative Tia, Michelle and I started, is in the process of handing over leadership to the newer volunteers to continue the work of providing in-house support and training that was lacking when we were in training.

Now that you know what I'm busy doing, read about where I'm doing it.
Links relevant:
Sharon's astute take on an important issue in Moldova: MONEY.
Counter traffickers.
Romania and Moldova's bumpy relationship.
Three part series about Transnistria: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3