Thank you for your continued interest and support.

Dear Sponsor,
Thank you for your continued interest and support for the orphanage/boarding school crafts and vocational training programs in the Republic of Moldova. Without you we could not have kept the programs in operation since 2000...

The overall economic situation in Moldova has remained stable in part because there are still more than a million Moldovans working and living outside of the country and sending money home to their family members. This represents nearly 20 percent of the population of the country. Moldovan children are still at risk of exploitation, and repatriation programs are very active in locating Moldovan girls who have been lured outside of the country and wind up in the sex trade in Europe, Asia, and even in the United States.

Moldova is seeking membership in the European Union, is a member of the NATO Partnership for Peace program, and stands at the crossroads of East and West politically. The EU has directed the closure of the orphanage/boarding schools and the creation of a system of foster homes as one of the requirements for membership. Unfortunately Moldova does not have the financial or social infrastructure to allow for a successful system of foster care at this time. It is for this reason that our training programs are more important than ever. We continue to serve more than 3000 children in 10 institutions in which we have programs. The program includes traditional crafts of carpet and kilim making, clothing, wood working, and ceramics, and the more vocational programs of bee keeping, advanced wood and wicker working, metal working, hair dressing, and shoe repair. One orphanage has transitioned to a day school as a hybrid experiment in foster care. The children live at home with families who receive a small stipend from the government, but they receive all of their meals, education, and extracurricular support from the orphanage/boarding school. The director of this school has also received approval to issue vocational training certificates to the graduates based, in part, on the programs that Project Moldova conducts at her facility. The director of the orphanage for children with disabilities at Grinautsi-Moldova has been successful at giving the children the skills of hair care and shoe repair so that when they leave the orphanage and return to their villages at the age of 16, they have a means to create a living, as they have no opportunities for higher education and other vocations. Our other 8 sites continue to see good outcomes for the children through the program.

For these reasons we need your help and continued support. For the past 14 years we have given children a creative outlet, a sense of self- worth, and hope for a brighter day and a brighter future. We continue to be an inexpensive and cost effective charity averaging $1600-$1700 a month in operating costs, with our only overhead being the bank fees charged to transfer money to Moldova, otherwise all funds collected go directly to supporting the children. Donations may be through the mail to Project Moldova INC, P.O Box 55562, Washington, DC 20040, or via PayPal through our website at www.projectmoldova.org. We will keep the website updated with upcoming fundraising activities which you can attend and learn more about the project. For more information feel free to email us at 4projectmoldova@gmail.com or me personally at norvell.coots@gmail.com.

Thank you from all of us at Project Moldova,

Norvell V. Coots, MD, President, Project Moldova Inc.