Migrants, native from 23 communities contributed with 2 million lei to local development

“Even though in USA I had achieved results which seemed impossible, I still see my future in Moldova. I donated because I care and I miss my native village. Wherever I go, all the roads lead home, and my childhood place will always remain the most beloved, that is why I want to see it blossom”, says Victor Gisca, who donated 500 USD for rehabilitation of the park in his native village – Chiscareni.

Hence, over 40,000 migrants and locals contributed financially to local development in a transparent and safe way, through an online platform of funds collection, designed for community projects. The special section on www.guvern24.md dedicated exclusively to local development was developed with the support of Migration and Local Development Project, in cooperation with the Congress of Local Authorities of Moldova, and is available for use for almost 900 municipalities all over the country.

To support migrants and locals’ contributions, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation awarded grants of 20,000 USD to each of the 23 localities.

“The results of this campaign are impressing. The extraordinary mobilization of the diaspora confirmed once again that there is a potential that can and has to be exploited. The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation is further looking to contribute to a favorable environment for making migration work for development, support creation of services and products for migrants and their families and finally engage diaspora in the development of the country”, said Radu Danii, Program Coordinator, Swiss Cooperation Bureau in Moldova.

The amounts of contributions vary between 1 USD (the cost of a SMS or a phone call) and 1,000 USD. The collected sum exceeded the planned target by 50%.

“It is important that our natives are aware about the situation in their locality and know about ongoing projects, no matter where they are. To that end, we, as members of the Association of Natives from Ialoveni, in partnership with the mayoralty, look not just to inform, but also to regularly consult our natives on various issues of importance for the city”, says Tatiana Vrajmas, President of the Associations of Natives from Ialoveni.

The money collected and donated shall be used shortly by local authorities and Hometown Associations from five cities and eighteen villages, that are partners of the project. The total value of all 23 projects to be implemented amounts to 775,000 USD, out of which: 100,000 USD were collected from migrants, 460,000 USD were offered by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and 215,000 USD are allocated from local budgets.

“For the first time, as a local authority, we succeeded to involve migrants so close in solving our village problems. It is now when we are truly convinced of the care and love of those who left. It is obvious that people want to engage, and us, as local authorities must be transparent and create the necessary environment to engage every citizen in their native village development”, says Victor Stana, mayor of Gura Galbenei (Cimislia).

All 23 projects were identified and prioritized via online surveys, involving local population and migrants.