During the summer, MEET Centres worked in high gear. While some centres stopped their activities because of vacation time, the MEET Centre continued to organise activities for children from Ukraine and Moldova, kindly offering activities, smiles and space for dialogue and friendship.
The Institute for Rural Initiatives (iRi) and local partners coordinate the work of MEET centres in Chisinau and Cahul municipalities and town of Drochia.
Let us remind that MEET Centres were launched by iRi just a few months after the outbreak of Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine. The MEET project is the response of iRi and its partners to the need for integration of refugees displaced from Ukraine to the Republic of Moldova due to the war that has already lasted for 1 year and 7 months.
A total of 98 children (most of them Ukrainian) participating in MEET centres together with their parents enjoyed over 57 interactive activities on personal development, healthy lifestyle, environmental protection, designer art and calligraphy etc.
“Dear organisers of MEET Centre! Khokhlova Masha and her mum Victoria would like to express their deep gratitude to you for your labour, your attention and warm attitude to children! We have been attending activities on Fridays for almost a year and it was always with pleasure and interest! Due to you Masha has become more sociable and open! A low bow to you! We wish you good health and peace! We will be waiting for the new stage in September!”
In addition to weekly activities during the summer, children also took part in several memorable excursions: a visit to the Wooden Toys Factory for Children @EduJoc – Jucarii educative, @Muzeul de Stiinte ale Naturii din Chisinau, and the butterfly factory @Befly Chisinau (EduJoc – Educational Toys, Museum of Natural Sciences in Chisinau, and Befly Chisinau). Children and parents enjoyed the friendly atmosphere and were full of surprises during the excursions. Children discovered hundreds of specimens of animals and insects, some of them are unique, exhibited in the museums, which are not found in any of the museums in the world.
“It was a wonderful idea to visit the Edu Joc wood toy factory. It is the first time we go to an activity outside Chisinau. We also felt like children here, among the toys, together with our children, in a handicraft activity. We are looking forward to the next trips and will participate with great pleasure,” Eugenia said.
“Wow, so many butterflies here!! How big and colorful they are! The butterflies landed on my orange! How strangely they eat!” continually exclaimed Tania.
During one of the trips, the children had a special guest: Mrs. Olesia Shevchenko, wife of the Ukrainian Ambassador to Moldova, who brought books in Ukrainian for the children and donated them to MEET Centre in Chisinau. This action is part of the personal initiative of the First Lady of Ukraine Mrs. Olena Zelenska in the framework of the program “The shelf with Ukrainian Books”. Having the new batch of books and booklets, the children from Ukraine enjoyed interesting and useful materials to promote Ukrainian language among children and adults.
The activity is implemented by MEET Centres in coordination with the Institute for Rural Initiatives (iRi) and local partners with the support of Global Fund for Children and People in Need Moldova.
