MOLDOVA

ACN began its work in Moldova after learning that one-third of Moldovans aged 25-55 leave Moldova each year to find work outside the country, often leaving their children behind. The children left behind are sometimes abandoned when the caretakers do not receive money from the children’s parents. When found on the streets by the police, the children were placed in residential schools where they remained wards of the state until completing the 9th Grade. Unable to afford a higher education, these children become vulnerable.

These are the Moldovan children on whom ACN focused. They finished 9th Grade ill-equipped to survive outside of the institution that had become “home.”

Working closely with the wonderful Moldovan NGO, Insula Sperantelor, ACN funded the training of over 30 abandoned and orphaned childrenin hairdressing, manicurist, and chef training programs.

ACN also collaborated with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Moldova to assist abandoned young people reintegrate professionally and socially into Moldovan society. ACN left Moldova leaving the possibility open for possible further involvement later with Insula Sperantelor, an NGO that ACN believes can serve as a model for all others in the region.