He is convinced that if he is the last person to remain in the village "to turn off the lights", he would still be found there. Carnateni village is about 80 km away from the capital and about 10 km from the district center.Ten years ago, after a work accident, Vasile ended up being a user of a wheelchair.  Although his life has changed significantly since that moment, now he is a man who exudes enthusiasm and good mood, is an extremely involved civic activist, and has a great dream: that all public institutions in Moldova become accessible for persons with disabilities.  Since 2021 Vasile has been the deputy chairman of the Causeni District Participation Council.  He wants his life story and the situation he has found himself in to inspire and exemplify that “it can be different", while his successes are a living proof of that.Life before the accidentAfter about seven years of working abroad, Vasile returned to his village with the intention to open a small business.  He bought two specialized trucks and transported different goods from Causeni to Chisinau.  In the summer of 2010, he was transporting straw bales for a mushroom growing company.  Due to negligence of an employee, two of the bales toppled over Vasile, leaving him immobilized.  “Fifteen minutes after the accident, I was already in the hospital, but the intervention was performed only seventy-two hours later, due to lack of money and other bureaucratic reasons.  Too much time had passed, and the spinal cord could no longer be restored”, confesses the protagonist with emotion.I think an inborn disability is otherwise lived, then the one that was acquired during the life.For a year after the accident Vasile stayed in a straight position only, bedridden.  Expensive treatment and trips to the hospitals followed, but unfortunately the situation did not change. The reality had to be accepted, and he needed strength to start all over again. “You know, I think an inborn disability is otherwise lived, then the one that was acquired during the life.” Vasile shares.  “I was ashamed, for example, to go to the doctors. I would wait for all patients to come out, and then go in, even if I had an emergency.” Until then, Vasile confesses, he had known nothing about the situation of person with disabilities and thought of social projects, as well as NGOs, as “humanitarian aid”.  He remembers that when he arrived at the first training organized by the “Motivation” Association in 2014, he said to himself: “I go to the workshop because they have invited me, and after that I will mind my own business, there is nothing I can do anyway”.  But it was not so. Thanks to mentors and training, Vasile's attitude changed significantly, and because he also had a car adapted to his needs, opportunities for civic engagement emerged.  In 2016 he got involved in the first project: he monitored accessibility of polling stations.  Now civic activism has become his motivation, while engaging in projects provides him a source of income.He also participated as a councilor on the Carnateni local council list, but chose to change things at the district level, not just in his community.  Since 2021, he has been the deputy chairman of the District Participation Council.  In the 2018 elections, for example, he monitored accessibility of all polling stations in the district, and now he can be proud that dozens of institutions have become accessible thanks to the projects he has brought for his district.“Now the building of the district council is also in the process of renovation, it will have an adapted elevator and a ramp.  It is a great success and an example for the whole country”, says Vasile enthusiastically.At home, Vasile does everything. Together with his parents, he has four hectares of land, vineyard, birds and animals.  Most of all he likes working in the vineyard.  Regarding the reasons why persons with disabilities are less involved in the decision-making process, Vasile considers that, on the one hand, they face physical barriers when moving around, thus they are always put in the situation to “disturb” someone, and, on the other hand, they do not show interest, expect financial compensation, or remain indifferent. “I think I know everything about accessibility, and I would like other people in my situation to know at least ten percent of that.  It would be a big achievement.  I know it is hard to mobilize persons with disabilities, but if you make one step outside your courtyard, seek your rights, discover your passions, you can really achieve a lot, first of all for yourself, but also for other persons with disabilities. I have to confess, the main reason why I have decided to share my story is precisely this: to encourage involvement and reduce indifference”. states Vasile.***This story is part of the UN Moldova awareness raising campaign ”Stand for Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities – No One Must Be Left Behind." An initiative that is part of the UN ongoing efforts to promote the inclusive and meaningful participation of persons with disabilities in all their diversity in decision-making processes at all levels. The story was developed with the financial support of the UN Human Rights Moldova within the project "Paradigm Shift to Disability Inclusive Services, Accountability and Governance in Moldova", implemented by UN Human Rights Moldova, UNDP Moldova, and UNICEF Moldova funded by to the United Nations Partnership for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD). The views expressed in the paper do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the UN Human Rights or the UNPRPD.

Every day, Aliona and Ștefănel wake up at 7:00 to make it to class by 8:30. The walk to school takes just a few minutes. Ștefănel rides his electric "motorbike”, as he likes to call it, while Aliona hurries to catch up. The boy wishes she would ride with him, so that she can also feel the cool September air in her hair. “I don't fit. I’m fine walking," she reassures him. A field of tiny freckles spreads across her face, the same freckles that Ștefănel inherited from her. The fragile childAfter moving into his wheelchair, which he steers easily, Ștefănel enters the classroom while Aliona stays in the hallway. She clutches a bag of diapers and wet wipes to her chest and sits down on a worn leather bench. That's where she'll be waiting for Ștefănel at every break.Aliona Russu is from Soroca. For the past three years, she has been the personal assistant to her son, Ștefănel. "I was his mom until he turned seven. I looked after him 24/7. Since he started school, my job has a new name—personal assistant”, she says with a smile. She looks like a wrestler dressed in mom clothes. She never gave up on her baby, who, from his first hours of life, was deemed "far too fragile" and given little chance of survival. 14 Surgeries in 10 YearsȘtefănel was born with severe health problems. That was also when the fight for his life began, turning the hospital into "home." One month and three weeks after his birth, he had his first surgery. Then 13 others followed. "By the time he was five, he had already undergone ten surgeries”, his mother explains.Hydrocephalus, spina bifida, hip dysplasia—these are just a few of the conditions Aliona Russu lists. These conditions prevent him from walking on his own, from knowing when he needs to use the toilet, and from experiencing intense emotions—whether too happy or too sad—since they could trigger an epileptic seizure. That's why the child always needs his mother by his side.His "motorbike," an electric wheelchair bought with money raised by parents, students, and teachers at a charity fair where students sold their toys, makes it easier for him to get to school. It is parked under the stairs. Wheelchair at the Back of the ClassroomȘtefănel is in the fourth grade but follows a second-grade curriculum. Otherwise, it would be difficult for him to keep up with his peers. The left-hand side of the board displays equations for Ștefănel to solve, while the right-hand side shows equations for the others. With his wheelchair parked at the back of the classroom, it's hard to tell which student has special needs.The teacher calls him to the blackboard, and a classmate helps bring his wheelchair closer. With one swift move, Ștefănel gets into it. He maneuvers between the tables and heads towards the blackboard. His face lighting up as he gives the correct answer without needing help from his classmates, who are always ready to whisper it to him. "At the beginning, it wasn’t like this... We worked hard for these results”, explains Cristina Nitrean, a primary school teacher at Petru Rareș High School in Soroca. According to data from the Republican Centre for Psycho-Pedagogical Assistance, in 2022, out of the 460,835 children enrolled in kindergartens and schools in the Republic of Moldova, 11,766 were children with special educational needs. However, out of the 10,628 children with disabilities, only 5,753 were included in pre-school and school institutions.The Government aims for children with disabilities to make up 5% of the total number in pre-school education, 3% in technical vocational education, and 2% in higher education by 2027.
Three years ago, Cristina was informed by the school administration that she would have a child with special needs in her class. "I started crying. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to cope. How could I give him the attention he needed when I had 24 other students?" she wondered. “He needed to be integrated into society”At the first parent-teacher meeting, Aliona brought Ștefănel with her. "He seemed so small and gentle. I suddenly fell in love with him," admits the teacher. Ștefănel was a shy child, exhausted from his treatments and long hospital stays. The only people he tried to talk to in structured sentences were the nurses. "You could tell he needed to be integrated into society," says Cristina Nitrean.She discussed the situation with the parents of the other students so they could talk to their children. "And that’s how it all started. The children accepted him easily. There were less pleasant moments, like when they laughed because he had to wear diapers. But with patience and explanations, we got through it. I told them: everyone has their own needs. Some can’t do without sweets, others are very attached to their parents. Ștefănel needs to wear diapers so he can live and participate in society, and we need to accept and support him”, recalls the teacher. Since then, the children have tried to help their classmate whenever they see he’s struggling with an obstacle or problem. To make things easier for Ștefănel’s mother, the class moved from the second floor to the first. "We liked it better on the second floor, but the parents explained that Ștefănel’s mother couldn’t carry him up all those stairs, so we accepted," the students explain, talking over each other, their voices echoing through the school hallway. When heroes feel they can no longer go on...When Ștefănel misses school, his classmates and teacher call him on Viber during breaks. "It’s as if Ștefănel is abroad... beyond the borders of Soroca (she laughs). I love that we do this because I’m sure it benefits the whole class. These children will grow up to be people who accept others in need of help”, emphasizes Cristina Nitrean. After a short pause, the teacher starts laughing. "We also call him His Highness Stephen the Great. He’s a hero to the whole class," she says.But even heroes sometimes feel like they can no longer go on. It’s becoming harder for Ștefănel to spend hours at his desk. His back throbs with a pain that rings in his ears. Doctors have advised his parents to stop sending him to school. "It’s too much for him!". But the boy wants to go to school. "I feel good here. I feel happy here. These are my friends, and I like learning with them”, he admits, laughing loudly as his friends gather around to lift his wheelchair, carrying him the ten steps to the cafeteria and then to the gym. “The School Helps Him Spread His Wings"“Besides coping with pain, he is a realistic child. He knows that after this year, his school schedule will change. He’ll only attend a few days a week, and the rest of the time, he’ll study at home," says his mother.While Ștefănel’s classmates attend their English lesson, he works with his support teacher, Maia Jardan. The specialist has been working with children with special needs at the high school since 2015. Currently, there are 32 such students at the school. "We focus on exercises that are more challenging for them, according to the teachers’ observations," explains Maia. On the table, she has prepared several sheets with texts for Ștefănel to read. He likes Romanian lessons less. His letters are grouped into syllables, and he tries not to lose them before forming a word. His teacher, glasses perched on the tip of her nose and hair slightly disheveled, smiles and promises him a reward at the end of the lesson. "We just have to try. Come on, you can do it!" she encourages him. The boy straightens his back and focuses intently on the sentences.Aliona Russu continues to wait for him on the same bench in the school hallway. It gives him the independence he can manage. "I want him to learn to cope and become a strong person," she says. When he feels discouraged, thinking his illnesses will prevent him from being like other children, his mom shows him videos of adults in wheelchairs playing soccer, breakdancing, and proving that "it can be done!"."School is where he spreads his wings and dares to dream. That’s why I want him to come as often as possible," admits Ștefănel’s mother. The bell rings, signaling the start of another lesson.UNICEF, together with the Ministry of Education and Research and the Republican Centre for Psycho-Pedagogical Assistance, has launched a national campaign to change society’s attitude towards children with disabilities and special educational needs. The campaign promotes inclusive education under the slogan "Learning Together." 

After decades of working abroad, Anatolie Peancovschi managed to start a car wash using an environment-friendly technology in his home village in the Republic of Moldova. Thanks to ILO support, he was able to expand his small business now employing four local people previously without jobs.The first wave of labour migrants from Moldova began in the early 1990s, driven by their aspirations for better work and a higher quality of life for themselves and their families. Consequently, Anatolie Peancovschi, from Grigorauca, a small Moldovan village, first migrated to Russia, then to Italy and Switzerland. He was a young man of only 21 years when left Moldova. Over the next 25 years, he moved back and forth, always hoping to return home for good. Anatolie had a dream of starting his own business in Moldova and growing old with his wife, close to his sons. Now at last, Anatolie is back home. With the state support he has received he managed to become an entrepreneur.  The training and assistance provided by the ILO enabled him not only to expand the business now employing four local people, but also empower his community, and at the same time protect Moldova’s natural resources. Over 350,000 Moldovans have left the country during the last decade due to outmigration. One in three households has at least one family member abroad, exacerbating the country’s brain drain and labour shortages, with children left behind, as well as many empty communities. Family reunification outside of Moldova has increased by 30 per cent in just a few years. Not many of those who left have decided to return—making Anatolie a notable exception. Not only was he reunited with this wife and his old mother, but he also fulfilled his dream of becoming an entrepreneur. Initially, he joined the public program “PARE 1+1”, designed to match public funds with resources of returned migrants seeking to start a business.  “I am back home and happy where I am”, reveals Anatolie. “As a migrant, I worked in the construction sector, but car mechanics was always my hobby. In Switzerland I practiced it quite often and learned a lot”. Back to Moldova, Anatolie bought an old building in his village and launched the first entrepreneurial effort, a carwash, with support from “PARE 1+1”. The service became popular very quickly. “I was eager to expand my business and make it more eco-friendly, but I needed to learn how,” shares Anatolie. “One day, I discovered the partnership between the Organization for Small and Medium Enterprises (ODA) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) and their support for rural entrepreneurs. I applied to the programme and was soon enrolled.” The ILO project aimed to stimulate the green economy in Moldova and create more and better jobs. Among other initiatives, the ILO supported ODA and five local Business Incubators in launching the 'Support to Green Grants Challenge' initiative. Over two hundred rural entrepreneurs were trained and coached in green business practices through the ILO's Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) training programme. Half of these entrepreneurs were selected to access financing and be supported in developing business plans, 50 new green start-ups received development assistance, and five SMEs were assisted with equipment that is environmentally friendly. Anatolie Peancovschi’s enterprise was one of them. “I received valuable training on how to improve my business and make it more eco-friendly,” recalls Anatolie. “I translated this knowledge into a business plan, which won the competition. I invested part of my €2,000 grant in purchasing a hydrocarbon separator. The separator retains petrol, fuel oil, oil, and lubricants before discharge into wastewater, ensuring the proper functioning of water treatment plants and preventing environmental damage—crucial for a car washing business. Additionally, I used some of the grant funds to modernize the equipment. Since 2023, our business volume has increased by 20 per cent, and it provides employment to four previously unemployed people from my village.” Recently, Anatolie entered an agreement with local public authorities to supply cleaned water for public works, including road construction. He is also in discussions with the local fire service to support them. This is all important given high risks of water scarcity in the future, resulting from climate change and frequent droughts in Moldova. Anatolie is living a big part of his dream now, but not all. He lives in his home country and has no plan to emigrate for work again. He runs his own business which also assists his community. But he misses his two sons, who followed their father’s path of emigration. Dan and Iulian are migrant workers in Switzerland now. They run their own business in the transport sector. “Iulian has always been in love with geography. As a child, he dreamed of becoming a geography teacher in the community school," says Anatolie. "I persuaded him to study economics instead. However, after graduating abroad, he switched universities and followed his true passion—studying geography. I am not happy with my sons living abroad. My wife and I miss our little granddaughter who was recently born. I set an example for them returning home. I see our future together, we could develop a family business, set up additional services related to car maintenance, reparation, etc.” Anatolie is very optimistic about the future. Recently, something happened that boosted his hope that Iulian and Dan will soon return to Moldova—they bought a big house in Grigorauca to settle in when they come back for good. The boys share their father's dream of starting a family business together. Iulian’s is also thinking about how to fulfil his dream of imparting his love for geography to local children.
 

When they had surplus dairy products, Elena Pavlov would sell them at the local market, where the future entrepreneur started to make her first clients. Her dairy products began to be appreciated and increasingly in demand, so the family bought a few more animals every year. The entrepreneur ended up owning 50 head of good dairy cows."There were no jobs in our region. Having three children, we had to feed them and send them to school. I didn't want my husband or myself to go abroad, so we decided to work here on our farm," remembers Elena.Over the years, the family has invested the money from dairy production in equipment to make their work on the farm easier. From a young age, the family's children were involved in the business, but as they grew up, they moved away from home. Only daughter Violeta, 29, left Chișinău for the Zăicani farm."I love animals, just like my mom. I used to work in Chișinău and on my days off I came home to help my parents. Lately I've seen that it's harder for them, I'm getting older and I need to get more involved. I came back home and I'm working on the farm. So, what if I finished law school?" says Elena's daughter.Farmers sell their dairy products at the market, deliver them to clients or get them from home. In a single day, the Pavlov family's cows produce 350 liters of milk. The entrepreneurs refuse to give the milk to the dairy because of the very low price offered by the collection points, so they needed cold storage and a milk cooling tank to store the milk.The energy crisis two years ago also hit this farming family. With high electricity prices, monthly bills were two or even three times higher. Cold rooms, fridges, milking machines, which were very old, consumed a lot of electricity.Thanks to the help of the Austrian Development Agency through the UNDP project "Emergency support for agri-producers in the context of the socio-economic, climate and energy crisis", the entrepreneur was able to purchase solar panels with a capacity of 8 kW, a milk cooling tank and two milking machines. "This support means a lot for us. It's the first support we've ever won. It helps us a lot because we have a lot of machines connected to electricity. Even the feed for the animals we make on some electric feed shredders. The cooling tank was old and used a lot of electricity. The money we save, we will invest in expanding the business, we want a big production room where we can package the products," says Elena Pavlov.Now the farmers produce sweet cheese, salted cheese, cream and fresh milk. They want to open their own shops and sell tasty and healthy products all over the country.