Dear Mr./Mrs. Anonymous,

Thank you.

Also many more big thank you's to all of you that donated toward my Hospice project here in Moldova.  Apparently in the last few days the last $2,146 was collected through my Peace Corps account.  Crazy how fast that last two thousand came but I am incredibly grateful for it.

If you happen to coming to this website wanting to donate to my project. Please consider donating to this other project:

https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=261-197

It is the project of a good friend of mine here in Moldova. His village may be located on the other of the country but that doesn't make it less important.

Anyhow, remember to check back here as I will be updating as to the progress of my project here.

Once again thank you one and all,

Aaron

October 11, 2010—Roughly $500, a good start

So as I have told many of you in emails and on my last blog post I am working with a hospice center here in Taraclia named Angelus Moldova.  I told you that I would update you on the progress of the organization over the coming months so that you understand the problems faced by them.

On Saturday we celebrated our one-year anniversary as an established organization in Moldova.  We marked this anniversary by holding a concert at the local House of Culture.  The House of Culture in most Moldovan cities and towns is where most cultural events take place, our HOC happens to have the local library and a few other uses whereas the smaller villages usually just have an area for dancing or important meetings.  It is a very useful service that the HOC provides, usage of the facilities is free and they even staff the event by providing MCs and sound system people—a huge plus when trying to keep the costs down for a benefit concert.

For the past two months we have been organizing the event which really has consisted of finding musical groups and dance groups to perform for free for our concert.  Overall I would say that the concert was a success, we raised roughly $500 which is not too shabby for a small town in Moldova.  The biggest problem that we had was the weather which was rather dismal. We practically sold all 500 seats in the auditorium for the concert, but since the weather was so bad only about 150-200 people showed up.  It is most important in the short-term to raise the money, but the long-term scenario is more important in getting out the message of hospice care in Moldova.  The local television station was there and interviewed a few of the relatives of former patients of the center.  This special should air on TV sometime soon.  Maybe if I can get an electronic copy of it I will post it on here with some subtitles.

Here is the link for donating to my project here as well:
https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=261-204

Here are some pictures and videos of the event:

This is a short video of one of the singers from our last act Crystal:

This is the other singer from the Crystal group, this kid is the man:

A local dance group who danced too fast my little ol' camera:

An early act:

A younger dance team from a nearby city:

 Local Musicians:

October 7th, 2010--Hospice Care in Moldova and you...

Howdy folks,

It is time I finally let you in on a project that I am doing here in the Peace Corps.

One of the organizations that I have been working with here is named Angelus Taraclia. It is a local hospice care center that works as a non-profit here in my town of Taraclia.  I believe it is either the 4^th or 5^th organization of its kind in all of Moldova.  This particular center specializes in care for terminal cancer patients who are approaching the end of their time here.

Our focus as an organization is not only to care for patients but also to spread awareness of the service throughout Moldova.  Moldova, in general, has an interesting mentality when it comes to end-of-life care.  Hospice care is relatively new in Moldova and the current medical insurance industry doesn’t cover its cost.  This situation often leads people to hide their illnesses in order to save money for their families which they believe would be wasted on their remaining days in this world.  As you can guess, the result is the sick and elderly of Moldova not receiving medical care that significantly reduces the pain and heartbreak that accompanies death. 

Hospice care gives people and their families the opportunity to be with loved ones at the times they are needed most.  As many of you know being with an ailing parent, sibling or friend at the end of their lives can give closure to relationships that are important to us.

This organization has been around for one year and has reached the end of its funding through the Soros foundation.  At this time, I am raising money for the continuation of the services provided.  I feel like the work done so far has made a significant impact on the lives it has touched and it would be a disservice to the people of Taraclia to stop the effects of a great organization.  My goal is to raise $3,300 in order for Angelus Taraclia to remain open for another 6 months.  This will give us much needed time to develop a strategic plan for the coming years, organize awareness campaigns and help the organization raise the total percentage of community contributions by a significant amount.  Over the duration of the 6 months we will continue to raise local funds and seek out funding through other means.

The money you donate will be going to a very good cause and will give the organization the needed time to develop its autonomy in these rough economic times.

Please follow the link below and donate at:

https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=261-204

You can donate very easily by entering the amount you wish to donate on the lower right-hand side of the website.

Thank you much and please check back here often as I intend to update you on the continual progress of the organization.

Sincerely,

Aaron