Moldova – Peace Corps Worldwide

New PCVs to Moldova

Aug 16 2024

PCVs in the news – Twenty Peace Corps Volunteers from the United States have taken the oath to serve Moldovan people. Starting today, they will begin their roles as English teachers, health educators, and consultants in community and development in Moldova. Among those who have taken the oath is Ryan Bell. He lived with the Căpăţină family in Ruseştii Noi for 10 weeks. Today, the Căpăţină family was present to support him. “We considered him our third son. He is kind, helpful when needed, and tolerant. After he left early this morning, my husband and I felt a void. It feels empty without Ryan; the atmosphere is not the same,” said Domnica Căpățină. “We want to assist the people of Moldova. I appreciate your culture and the hills. I am very excited; it is a significant moment,” declared Ryan Bell, a Peace Corps volunteer. The Darii family from . . .

Kelsey Walters (Moldova) in “War in Ukraine Hurting Oklahoma Wheat Farmers”

Apr 17 2024

In the news — By Analyse Jester and Lisa Maslovskaya NonDoc Saturday, April 13, 2024 From a farm in Oklahoma to growing wheat in Moldova, Kelsey Walters (Moldova 2007-09) is now looking to her past to secure her future. Kelsey Walters grew up on her family’s sixth-generation farm in western Oklahoma. She graduated from Oklahoma State University with a degree in agriculture economics, and she was placed in Moldova as a Peace Corps volunteer where she met her husband, Iurie, and began a wheat farming operation. But now their livelihood and that of wheat growers across Oklahoma is threatened by the war in Ukraine. Russia has reopened ports out of the Black Sea, and Ukraine is exporting low-priced wheat, which means American farmers are struggling to match those prices and still make a profit. Some Oklahoma farmers are looking toward alternate crops. Since the invasion, Russia has gained roughly 20 percent of . . .

Delaware County PA Literacy Council welcomes Colleen Duran (Moldova) as Executive Director

Nov 30 2023

In the news — Literacy Council board of directors and staff recently welcomed Colleen Duran as executive director. According to the council’s press release — “Colleen comes to us with an incredible background in non-profit service, particularly in education and literacy,” said board co-President Patricia Rizzo. “She will make Delaware County Literacy Council a place where quality services are delivered by our quality people each and every day.” After working as a literacy tutor with AmeriCorps, Duran began a long period of service managing programs at Pittsburgh Literacy, followed by two years of volunteering with the Peace Corps in the Republic of Moldova. “Without a doubt, one of the best things I’ve ever done,” said Duran. “I am forever honored and grateful that I had the opportunity to serve.” Duran continued her career with opportunities in nonprofit organizations that developed her skills in strategic leadership, program management and evaluation, and . . .

PCVs To Moldova

Oct 12 2023

A new group of U.S. Peace Corps volunteers is coming to Moldova for two years. According to the Embassy of the Republic of Moldova in the USA, this group is the first after a three-year break due to the pandemic. After a training course in Moldova, the 19 volunteers will go to the localities of the country that submitted requests to participate in the program. They will serve as either educational volunteers in schools, community development volunteers, or health education volunteers in schools/organizations. Many of the former Peace Corps volunteers who served in Moldova, upon returning to the US obtained important positions in public and non-governmental offices. Currently, Peace Corps Moldova is celebrating its 30th year of service in our country.

Review | IN THE AMBER CHAMBER by Carrie Messenger (Moldova)

Oct 08 2023

In an Amber Chamber, Stories Carrie Messenger (Moldova 1994–96) Brighthorse Books 260 pages August, 2018 $16.95 (paperback) Reviewed by Eugénie de Rosier (Philippines 2006-08) Carrie Messenger’s short stories paint dark and disturbing settings for people who lived in Eastern Europe under strangling communism. Romania and Moldova are noted. The former’s Ceaușescu brutalized his country. Famine was a scourge in the 1940s and in the 1980s, deprivation was widespread; and state enforced-pregnancy led to too many children that couldn’t be supported by their parents. The government opened orphanages which were run by people who seemed unaware of children’s needs. Themes of despair, loss, and vulnerability run through these 18 stories, but there are also uplifting moments . . . when a child’s laugh can be heard, a dog’s bark echoes in frolic, the surprise of a holiday in a new free country. About the stories In Edgewater, three Romanian . . .

Israel Collier advocates for Roma minorities in Moldova

May 15 2023

POSTED BY TIM WOMBLES Israel Collier (Moldova 2014-16) never saw herself on the other side of the world in Moldova, advocating for the ethnic Roma population and speaking Romanian, Moldova’s official language, but she always envisioned a life of service. Growing up across from Beaumont High School in north St. Louis, Collier inherited a sense of empathy for others from her dad, who was a mentor to many fatherless children in the neighborhood. “We shared our father with them,” Collier says. “That was foundational for me.” It was in that spirit of service that Collier enrolled at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, earning her BS in biology with a minor in chemistry. While at UMSL, Collier worked as a mentor for multicultural students, volunteered at clothing drives and tutored in French and biology. “I had every intention to become a physician,” Collier says. But while she was in medical school . . .

SHOO DO GOOD Pants by Stacy Chong (Moldova)

Jan 21 2023

As a Peace Corps Volunteer Stacy worked with local NGO APIUS (Association for Moldova’s Fashion, Apparel, & Footwear Industries) as a Small Enterprise Development Consultant for Moldova’s fashion industry. Primary work centered around the development of Moldova’s first fashion center Zip House, a USAID CEED II project; accomplishments include: (1) the creation and launching of Moldova’s first Textile and Sourcing Center, won a $10K grant and developed the textile center with student volunteers, acquiring over 2000 fabric donations and books from international communities; (2) the implementation of three successful internship programs where over 54 youths, mostly girls, learned professional skills and received career guidance; (3) the development of numerous workshops/seminars for industry professionals and university teachers – recruited international specialists, working closely with them to develop seminars/trainings in pattern-making, branding, marketing & sales; (4) personally conducting workshops and seminars on marketing, forecasting, and small business development. Additionally, taught . . .

RPCV–made beer to help Ukraine

Apr 10 2022

ABQ brewery providing a ReSource for Ukraine by Elaine D. Briseño / Albuquerque Journal staff writer PUBLISHED: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6TH, 2022 AT 1:46PM Sipping on beer might seem like an unremarkable activity but one brewery is hoping that simple pleasure will help people on the other side of the world. The owners of ReSource Brewing Co., Stephanie and Shawn Wright, are releasing “Our Lady of Immaculate Fermentation” and categorizing what is usually called a Russian Imperial Stout as a Ukrainian Imperial Stout. The beer will be released Friday, April 8. Stephanie Wright said the brewery will donate 100% of the proceeds to help the people in Ukraine. “Eastern Europeans are known for their love of strong drink,” Stephanie Wright (Moldova 1999-01) said. “Vodka and imperial beers among the top picks. Shawn and I thought it would be fun to take the Imperial Stout moniker away from Russia . . .

Review — LENIN’S ASYLUM: Two Years in Moldova by A.A.Weiss

Mar 16 2021

Lenin’s Asylum: Two Years in Moldova by A.A. Weiss (Moldova 2006-08) Everytime Press 255 pages June 2018 $6.00 (Kindle); $16.95 (Paperback) Reviewed by Steve Kaffen (Russia 1994-96) • Lenin’s Asylum; Two Years in Moldova by A.A. Weiss (Moldova 2006-08) is superb writing: flowing and fast-paced, insightful, entertaining, humorous, and empathetic. It describes the author’s two years as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching English in a village in Moldova. A.A. Weiss is a gifted storyteller and uses crisp sentences, vivid descriptions, and abundant dialogue that are lively, revealing, and often funny. The writing is very personal; you feel the author’s frustrations and joys. Moldova is perhaps the most forgotten country of the former Soviet republics, a landlocked place sandwiched between Russia, Romania, and Ukraine. Moldova clings to Russian, Romanian, or Ukrainian language, culture, and traditions depending upon the region. Of note, the author remarks several times that he was appropriately . . .

Review — NOT EXACTLY RETIRED by David Jarmul (Nepal, Moldova)

Jun 09 2020

Not Exactly Retired: A Life-Changing Journey on the Road and in the Peace Corps David Jarmul (Nepal 1977–79; Moldova 2016–18) Peace Corps Writers March 2020 300 pages $15.00 (paperback); $9.99 (Kindle) Reviewed by Sue Hoyt Aiken (Ethiopia 1962 to 64) • This journey takes place over many years in the lives of the author and of his wife, Champa. It reflects some of their separate lives prior to meeting in Nepal and finally where their intertwined life led them. It begins where so many Peace Corp Volunteer stories begin: as young adults called to adventure. David traveled to Nepal with a friend and while there committed to be a volunteer. Many years later, after children, careers, and grandchildren, David in his second tour as a volunteer was once again reminded that President Kennedy’s dream was to set the Peace Corps apart from USAID by serving the world’s . . .

John Michael Flynn (Moldova 1993-95) Publishes Two Essays on Moldova

Apr 30 2015

John Michael Flynn’s Moldova A resident of central Virginia, John Michael Flynn (Moldova 1993-95) taught at Balti State Pedagogical Univeristy in Moldova and is now an English Language Fellow with the US State Department in Khabarovsk, Russia. His most recent poetry collection, Keepers Meet Questing Eyes (2014) is available from Leaf Garden. Two essays of John’s were published on-line this month. One essay is entitled Hai La Masa and is published in Proximity from Madison, Wisconsin: www.proximitymagazine.org. The second one is entitled, Ideal Village and is published in Limehawk located in upstate New York: www.limehawk.org. Lime Hawk Literary Arts Collective was started in 2013 to offer a creative space for artists to share their perceptions of current social and environmental issues. The quarterly online journal publishes new fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and visual art by a diverse and talented group of artists, both emerging and established. Proximity Magazine is also a quarterly publication focused . . .