Our traditional Christmas contest is back! Leave your letter for Santa Claus in a comment below and wait for his reply! Santa has prepared presents for the authors of the most remarkable letters! Deadline: December, 25
The Best Letter for Santa Christmas Contest
“Is It Right or Write?” Spelling Contest
“Is It Write or Right?” Spelling Contest Brings Together 180 Moldovan High-school Students
On the 16th Anniversary of American Councils Moldova, Access Microscholarship Program organized the “Is It Write or Right?” spelling contest in 8 regions of the country . The main goal of this action was to promote education and English literacy among Moldovan students.
180 high-school students from Balti, Ungheni, Calarasi, Chisinau, Bender, Cimislia, Comrat and Cahul, entered the contest, trying to show excellent spelling skills and English proficiency. The works of the participants were evaluated by the Access Alumni who were of great help in the organization of this event in their communities.
The students whose works proved to be the most accurate, and who became the winners of the spelling contest are the following:
1. Catalina Habasescu – “V. Alecsandri” Th. Lyceum, Balti;
2. Diana Caducenco – “V. Alecsandri” Th. Lyceum, Ungheni;
3. Viorica Gavrilita- “M. Sadoveanu” Th. Lyceum, Calarasi;
4. Marina Sfecla- “Prosucces” Th. Lyceum, Chisinau;
5. Valeria Postolachi- “M. Eminescu” Th. Lyceum, Chisinau;
6. Bogdan Vezetiu- “Al. cel Bun” Th. Lyceum, Bender;
7. Sergiu Cevali- “M. Eminescu” Th. Lyceum, Cimislia;
8. Alexandra Plahotniuc- “G. Gaidarji” Th. Lyceum, Comrat;
9. Mihai Gisca- “M. Eminescu” Th. Lyceum, Cahul.
For encouraging their love for the English language, all the winners received Jack London’s book- “To Build a Fire”, a gift from the U.S. Embassy to Moldova, signed by the Assistant Public Affairs Officer- Kate Bartlett.
This contest helped the participants discover the things they should pay more attention to in order to improve their English. They enjoyed it and expressed their willingness to participate in other English contests!
Congratulations to all the winners and good luck to all the participants in all their future endeavors!
We are very grateful to the Access Alumni and the PCVs from Calarasi, Deeporne Beardsley, and Comrat, Elisa Black, as well as the Fulbright scholar from Comrat, Karissa Jackson, for their collaboration and help in the organization of this event in their communities!
I Want To Go to School Too
310 Children from Social Vulnerable Families Benefited from “I Want to Go to School Too” Campaign
October, 17 2014
Recently, the Access Microscholarship Program Moldova has ended the “I Want to Go to School Too” donation campaign in 10 regions of the country; an idea inspired from the success story of the previous campaign the program ran in spring “Give Your Toy a New Life”. The main goal of this social action was to collect as many school supplies as possible for almost 310 children living in orphanages or socially vulnerable families; thus promoting the importance of education among them and encouraging them to study.
In addition to these presents, the 125 Access students and alumni involved in the project, prepared original and nice handmade bookmarks and friendship bracelets, as symbols of kindness and mutual help for orphan kids. Also, each group has involved them into entertaining activities connected to education, human values, tolerance, equality, and US culture.
This way, in partnership with the local social assistance services, public administration and other educational institutions, the campaign was hosted by the boarding houses from Popenschi village, Ribnita; Bolohan village, Orhei, and Orphanage nr.6 from Chisinau. Moreover, the participants brought the spirit of happiness and planted seeds of hope in kids’ souls from the Multifunctional Community Center “ASCLEPIO” from Bender, Maternal Center ” Speranta” from Cahul, the Center for Rehabilitation and Social Inclusion of Children “Cultum” from Stauceni, Chisinau, and visited 16 social-vulnerable families from Causeni and Grigoripol.
All in all, the ” I Want to Go to School Too” campaign broke the stereotype of an indifferent and mean new generation, showing power of compassion, kindness, and generosity, things which are absolutely necessary in a healthy society. It helped the children stay focused on their studies and not on their health or social problems.
On behalf of the Access Program, we would like to express our gratitude for all the active and kind people from all around Moldova involved in this campaign. We are very thankful to all those who have supported our initiative and have made theirdonations!!!
Ialoveni Youth Joining “Making The Change Through Social Theater”: “The Ugly Duckling”
The Access students from Ialoveni have staged their own interpretation of “The Ugly Duckling”, the well-known story that dwells upon discrimination, gossiping and the boundaries imposed by the society you live in. The children from “Casa Gavroche” orphanage have learned that they should not be mean to each other and that the internal beauty is the one that really matters, and not the external one. They also learned some funny dances from their visitors. This project has brought only positive emotions to all the people who have been involved.
You can read the script of this play below:
Orhei Youth Joining “Making the Change Through Social Theater”- “The Rainbow”
The Access students from Orhei represented the play entitled “The Rainbow” which was meant to highlight a very relevant problem in our society: inefficient time management. The students staged a play that explains why black and white colors are not included in the rainbow. The story says that these two colors were late when the Sun came to the classroom to invite his friends, the Colors, who were at school, to create something very unique and beautiful for people.
This play was represented at “Casa Gavroche” orphanage from Chisinau. In addition to that, the Access students decided to teach the kids some dances that they learned during the Access summer camp. The little children were very happy to have our students as their guests.
Below, you can find the script the students wrote:
Straseni Youth joining “Making the Change through Social Theater” : “The Story of an Envious Cloud”
The group of students from Straseni decided to teach the children what is mutual work, collaboration, and team spirit. They represented the story of a small, envious cloud that wants to be as big as his neighbor. In order to do that, the small cloud starts to collect all the water inside of him, and doesn’t give rain to the people and Nature. He does that till one day when he explodes and becomes even smaller than he used to be at the beginning. Then, the cloud is taken in another country by the wind. Being all alone there, the cloud understands his mistake and starts to do what a cloud has to, and shares the rain with people, trees, and flowers. Only by sharing the goods he has, the cloud succeeds in making the people happy, and makes his country a very beautiful and prosperous one.
They represented their play to the children from kindergarten nr. 8 “Albinuta” from Chisinau. The students liked to be actors very much, while the little spectators enjoyed the play. They all had a lot of fun!
Below, you can find the script of the play that the students wrote by themselves:
Social Theater Performances Elaboration
When working on the planning stage, participants followed the stages below:
- Get ready- get to know your community and your partners and build relationships.
- Plan-create a vision and plan for where you want to go.
- Implement- take actions to make your community stronger.
- Sustain- reflect, improve and make connections so your work will last.
Social Theater Training
Social Theater Trainings:
Trainings on the importance of youth civic engagement and social theater were organized for each of the regional teams. The trainers were representatives from Access Microscholarship Program Alumni, Peace Corps Volunteers and local NGOs.
The trainings followed the models presented by A.R.T. Fusion Association (www.artfusion.ro, www.teatruforum.ro/docs/Re-Creeaza%20ARTitudinea%20prin%20Teatru%20Forum%20-%20Ghid%20Practic.pdf) and Theatre of the Oppressed Training Manual by Michael Shank.
Social Theater Training Syllabus
Creating a Work Group of Youth from Orhei, Straseni and Ialoveni
The students from Orhei, Straseni and Ialoveni boarding houses and orphanages worked together in teams of 15-20, created the Facebook page, and brainstormed the social problems of the local community in collaboration with the strategic partners: youth councils, churches, city halls, local NGOs, school authorities etc.
Access Moldova (American Councils) 