Young Volunteers Renovate Stadium in Andruşul de Sus
Andruşul de Sus, a village in Moldova’s Cahul rayon, had an abandoned stadium—too rundown for children and youth to use. Instead, farmers used the space to graze their animals. The community met several times to talk about renovating the stadium, but nothing had been done.
This sort of community need is precisely what the Association of SingleParent Families (AFMP)—funded by USAID through the Moldova Civil Society Strengthening Program (MCSSP)—is trying to solve by training youth in Cahul in the basic skills of community activism. AFMP organized its first regional Volunteer School in September 2010 for 25 local youth in how to identify realistic solutions for community problems and mobilize people and resources to work on the solutions.
Graduates of AFMP’s Volunteer School from Andruşul de Sus quickly put their training into practice. They organized other youth in their villiage to focus on solving the double problem of the unused stadium and their need of a safe space to play and compete. 16-year-old Mihaela Florea, said, “Unfortunately the community does not have nice, equipped sport field. Boys have to invent the gates for playing football”, explained Mihaela. Dana, Mihaela’s sister, added, “Usually I play alone in the courtyard because in the village we do not have a special place where I can play safely with the ball, to jump or to run.”
Led by the graduates from AFMP’s school, the group of youth presented their idea to other community members, teachers at the local school, and local government officials and succeeded in getting the necessary materials—football goals and nets, volleyball nets, spectator seats, and a playground. The youth put in the work to renovate the stadium, opening the “new” facility to the community on 9 November 2010, who barely recognized the space. Ecaterina Ivanov, project manager of the effort, described her experience, “With the local administration and school support, CSO involvement, we succeed to create a friendly and secure space for children and youth. The stadium is well-equipped with modern facilities and can host beautiful games.” Todos Dumitru, a volunteer on the project, commented; "Now young people are proud of their volunteer activities. The youth power is in their participation. This personal experience of mobilizing citizens and local stakeholders inspires us to solve other problems from the community".
MCSSP is a three-year civil society strengthening program funded by USAID and implemented by the Academy for Educational Development (AED). With USAID funding, AFMP is training a group of 60 youth volunteers to encourage other youth in rural villages around Cahul to become active in their communities. Project beneficiaries are sharpening their skills for conducting community meetings; develop public speaking abilities, and skills for working in a team. This empowers them to attack social problems as well as bridge the gap that exists between youth, local public officials and community leaders to become more involved in community affairs. At the end of the project, a contest for best community mobilization program will be held.
