[CivilSoc] Gloria Women's Organization, Moldova

[Moderator]

GLORIA Women's Organization
str. M. Viteazul 48-1
MD-5000 Floresti
Soroca  Counti
Republic of Moldova
Telefone/fax number: (+373-50) 2-41-10
Email address: ong_gloria at hotmail.com
Contact person: Vera Vasilcenco
The main goal of our organization is to stimulate women's participation in
social life and to help them to adapt themselves to new living conditions
where starvation, poverty and unemployment prevail, and to inform them about
the protection of their civil, economic and political rights and to
propagandize healthy way of life.
The town of Floresti, in Soroca County, is in the Northeastern part of
Moldova and has a population of 18,000. Presently our country  finds itself
in a profound  socio-economic crisis. A majority of the state  enterprises
in  Floresti are not working . In 1999, due to territorial-administrative
reforms that were adopted in Moldova, Floresti lost its status as a Regional
Center. Because of this, many  state  institutions  were closed. This
situation has resulted in the appearance of a  mass of unemployed people,
especially women. They were deprived one of their fundamental human
rights--the right to work and become self aware.
Many women want to take part in the social activities but they  don't have
the possibilities. That's why our group that  consists  of such unemployed
women decided to found the Organization "Gloria". It was founded on May 7,
1999 and registered at the Floresti Mayor's Office on October 18, 1999. NGO
Gloria is a nongovernmental and non-political organization that joins
together 5 women of different nationalities and professions and its main
goal is to stimulate women's participation in social life and to help  them
to adapt themselves to new living conditions where  starvation, poverty  and
unemployment prevail, and to inform them  about the protection of their
civil, economic and political rights, and to propagandize healthy way of lif
e.
>From our activities primarily unemployed women derive benefit, we help them
to adapt to the new socio-economic conditions, training them on our courses
and giving them opportunities to find work placement. During our activities
we collaborated with many other social organizations:
- with Contact Center  from Balti.
- with the Center of planning family from Drochia,
- with Youth Association Juventus from Balti.
- We are  cooperating with IWCM from Chisinau and it financed us three
times.
Activities
*  November 10 1999 - We carried out our first seminar "What is an NGO ?"
the aim of which was to encourage women's participation to benefit society.
*  December 25 1999 - We carried out a rountable wheer the problems of women
in the town were discussed with the Mayor of Floresti.
*  April 2000 Training Cours for volunteers.
*  April 2000  Seminars  "Possibilities of Involving Women in Social life of
our town."
*  May 2000  "Domestic Violence ".
*  June 2000 "Women's Rights".
*  Jule 2000 " A Healthy Way of Living".
*  December - January 2001 Christmas and New Year's action for's action for
the children from large families and for the children invalids.
*  Since April 2001 Meetings on weekends with unemployed women where all the
women are occupied with needlework.
*  June 2001 The opening of the training center for unemployed women in our
town.
The structure of our organisation.
Our organization was started by 5 unemployed women on October 18, 1999. It
has a staff and volunteers. Our last project "Opening of the  Training
Center in our town"  was supported by Global Fund  For Women in May, 2001.
Presently we are going in needlework  with women and in the opened Training
Center we are  teaching  unemployed  women and the other category of
population of practical experiences for working on a computer, English,
cutting and sewing. Our Center is situated in a small rented  house of three
rooms, very comfortable , warm and cosy and with great love repaired by our
hands.  During the activities of our Center the demand on our services
increased but we have to limit the number of those who wish to study to work
on computer because of the  shortage of the computers ( we have only two
once). We are need of two more computers. Our Training  Center is unique in
our town that can teach unemployed women and the other people.  We hope you'
ll help us. Please support us and we'll  be able to continue the activities
of our center. For the future we plan to increase the spectrum of our
activities with the unemployed women in the surrounding rural area and to
train them directly in provinces.
We inform the population of Floresti  and the neighboring area about the
activities of our Center through a local TV station,  Flor TV, and through
promotional announcements. The courses  will be taken place in the distant
villages twice a week. We train small groups, it allows us to devote a
maximum of attention to everybody. The period of training is two-three-four
months. In addition to the Training Course we plan to open a section of
conducting a leisure for unemployed women and we'll organize different
parties  with music, dances, quizzes, excursions to the theatre to other
towns ( we have no theatre here in Floresti), to the circus, to the
monasteries, where women can go with their children  together. Our Center is
situated in a small rented three-room house. We widen our activities and we
are in need of widening of our Center as well.
The main goal of our project is to  help unemployed women adapt to the new
socio-economic conditions, training them in our Center and giving them
opportunisties to find job placement.