230 people with special needs will be assisted to find a job with EU project support
Ten NGOs from the Republic of Moldova have joined forces to help people with special needs find employment. They have created consortia at regional level, with the support of the European Union and Sweden, in the framework of the project “Local civil society contributes to the inclusive and sustainable economic development of the country”, implemented by the East Europe Foundation. NGOs aim to employ at least 230 people with special needs within two years. On 18 May 2022, 10 NGOs signed grant contracts with the East Europe Foundation.
With the support of the EU and Sweden, the “Motivation” Association from Moldova is implementing the “Together for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at Work” project.
“We aim to empower civil society organisations that defend the rights of people with special needs to provide assisted employment services. We will train at least 20 specialists from NGOs and we will also apply mentoring programmes”, pointed out Ludmila Iachim, the executive director of the association.
And the NGO “TODAY” aims to employ people with disabilities by creating local and regional partnerships.
“We will create two laboratories for socio-professional inclusion in Cahul and Cantemir, which will later be taken over by the Employment Offices of the two regions”, noted Tatiana Seredenco, the executive director of the association.
European aid has also reached the left bank of the Nistru, where the Public Association “Ot ravnogo k ravnomu” aims to develop a personal assistance service.
The president of the NGO, Eugen Verbanov, mentioned that “A.O. “Peer to Peer” was founded to help the families of children with severe disabilities. In the Transnistrian region this service is underdeveloped, unlike the right bank of the river. A personal assistant is like a saviour for the families of children with disabilities, who live their drama alone and without help”.
The “PRO CIMIȘLIA” association managed to create a consortium with two other NGOs to increase the well-being of the communities in six rural localities of Cimișlia, Sângerei and Leova districts. “We want to reach the most vulnerable people in villages far from the district centres, with limited access to information. We will contribute to combining the efforts of the service providers, such as the Employment Directorates, the representatives of the LPAs, by creating an efficient mechanism for providing inclusive innovative services”, said Natalia Răileanu, president of the organisation.
The Centre for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities wants to address the issue of employing people with special needs in a multidimensional way.
“We will analyse and evaluate how accessible, including physically, the National Employment Agency and its territorial offices are. We will come up with recommendations regarding the services they provide. People with disabilities will participate in the research, in order to be able to express their point of view”, underlined Iuliana Bulicanu, the project coordinator.
The SHARE project, implemented by the Association “Regional Centre for Community Policies”, is addressed to persons released from detention.
“Our goal is to integrate former detainees into the labor force. People with a criminal past have the right to a second chance, the right to a decent future, the right to be respected and treated equally”, highlighted the executive director of the centre, Alexandr Kurașov.
The project “Local civil society contributes to the inclusive and sustainable economic development of the country” is funded by the European Union and co-financed by Sweden, implemented by the East Europe Foundation in partnership with the European Business Association and the Contact Centre.
