Children from the countryside of north Moldova learn to work with computers
Published: Sep 13, 2021 Reading time: 3 minutes
Children and teachers from all around the world have had to use computers to participate in distance-learning as they adapt to COVID-19 school closures. Those from the village of Cobani in North Moldova have an advantage: an organization called Neemia, supported by People in Need (PIN) within EU-funded COVID-19 Solidarity Programme for the Eastern Partnership, is organizing computer lessons for them.
“Here you can change the font of the text. It's also possible to work with headlines,” Nelea Cechina explains to a shy girl behind the computer screen. Nelea studies IT at university in Chisinau. She is back in her home village over the summer holidays. Together with other young people, she is volunteering with Neemia NGO. “I am here to teach children Microsoft Office, Excel, Power Point, Zoom, Google Meet,” Nelea says.
Victor Zama, founder of Neemia, is always around to help: “If the school goes online, there will be higher quality of schooling. We were able to buy four laptops for the project and we were able to start [teaching] two groups of children from local schools. We also have around 70 teachers from the whole district of Glodeni. We will provide them with training on how to use the virtual laboratories,” Victor explains. Neemia runs a youth centre in Cobani, where the computer lessons take place.
Victor and his team is creating a favourable learning environment for both teachers and pupils in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. They strengthen the IT capacities among pupils, including children from vulnerable families, and help teachers to deliver interesting, engaging online classes. “The new digital skills learned by teachers and pupils are a lifelong investment as they could be further used even outside the pandemic context,” Victor adds.
Neemia is one of the civil society organisations (CSOs) supported by People in Need (PIN) within the EU-funded COVID-19 Solidarity Programme for the Eastern Partnership. It focuses on support of civil society organizations. They are trained, capacitated and financially supported to be more prepared for coping with pandemic situations. “From the commencement of the project in July 2020, 11 CSOs received funding to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 through service delivery and strengthen operational capacity,” says Cristian Slobodeaniuc, project manager from People in Need Moldova. “The organizations received: equipment for remote management, personal protective equipment to decrease the risk of spreading COVID-19, training on finance, communication, monitoring and evaluation, and are participating in monthly coordination meetings where they receive guidance from People in Need Moldova and other well-established CSOs. Some organizations, determined to decrease the negative impact of COVID-19, expanded their work to new regions and hired additional personnel to address the needs of final beneficiaries in a more effective way.”
The aim of the EU-funded COVID-19 Solidarity Programme for the Eastern Partnership is to mitigate the adverse effects of COVID-19 and to contribute to the longer-term socioeconomic resilience of vulnerable groups in Eastern Europe. Implemented by PIN, in partnership with the Netherlands Helsinki Committee and AFEW International, the project includes interventions in Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine.
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This material was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of People in Need and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
