Joy brings Hope to Moldova

Moldova is forgotten. It is a country that has suffered under the rule of harsh communism. It is lacking in smiles and laughter. It almost seems that the coldness of the air has infiltrated the hearts of the people here…

In all the gloom, there is a glimmer of hope that I see: a community of people who come alive, who laugh and smile, who embrace each other warmly. These are the people I have met at Bridge of Hope. They have created a world for themselves-a world that is silent, yet beautiful….it is silent because they are deaf. The silence has isolated them from the rest of society; and so, they cling to each other for love and support.

It has been my honor to be invited into this community of sweet souls during my time in Moldova. From my conversations with the Deaf here, I have found that this population has experienced significant oppression and discrimination, all because they do not have a voice to speak out against the injustices they encounter. My time and energy is spent on a few specific tasks in the hopes of raising awareness about the Deaf in Moldova, as well as promoting empowerment, self-awareness, and self-advocacy. Primarily, I am working to create a basic curriculum on self-awareness and self-advocacy that I will leave behind for the director of Bridge of Hope. With the curriculum I create, I facilitate weekly group discussions among the Deaf at the organization. Lastly, I am writing up the stories of all the Deaf who are currently participating in Bridge of Hope’s educational program. Their stories will be sent to their sponsor to be posted on the organization’s future website.

This has been an incredible growing experience for me. I am learning so much from these people, and I love every minute I spend with them.
If you would like more information on the Deaf in Moldova, feel free to contact me at: Joy_Pfanner@baylor.edu. I would love to share the little that I know with anyone who is interested.

Blessings to you and yours from afar….

Working with CERI...A day in the life of Leah!

So the best way for me to explain this to you is to tell you a hypothetical story.
Jacob is a 16-year-old boy living in the orphanage (boarding school is what they call it here). Jacob is a client for CERI. Jacob became a client by being involved in the quality of life program, where he has an American sponsor that supports him financially and emotionally. Jacob met this sponsor through one of the summer camps CERI puts on, where American mission teams come and hang out with the kids for a week. In a perfect world, Jacob is placed in the foster care program so he can have a family and witness first hand the dynamics of a family, healthy relationship building, basic household chores, etc. Once Jacob ages out of the orphanage after completing the 9th grade (16-17 years old) he is encouraged to go to further school, whether it is high school or a professional trade school. Jacob decided to go to the Technical College. He is allowed to enter CERI’s transitional living program because he went on to get a higher degree. While in the transitional program Jacob attends 36 hours of class spread out over a 10 month time span. Jacob is taught modules such as life management, self-esteem, career planning, money management, etc.; skills he would not otherwise understand because of the lack of guidance he receives growing up in the orphanage. Jacob is also paired up with a mentor that meets with him at least once a week. Also, during the first training Jacob fills out a circle of support that includes people that his social worker, mentor, foster family, guardian, sponsor or teacher, people that he trust to support him and guide him. This Circle of Support is contacted by the social worker and meets on a needs basis in the best interest of Jacob.

So, I am doing informal evaluations of the case management preformed by the social workers, the mentoring program, and the circle of support while doing a formal program evaluation of the transitional living program. I am trying to bring some fluidity to these programs since they all intertwine. I have also taken on a caseload of one J to show a social worker what strength’s based assessment and a plan of service look like. I am writing curriculum for the transitional training and the mentoring training and I am trying to bring the circle of support program to life. I have also been teaching some training sessions.

I love the work here! It is exhausting at times with the language barrier and cultural differences, but I am learning so much!
So, there is just a little explanation about some of the work I do on a daily basis.

The Dyers are HERE!!!

We are so so so happy to have Preston and Genie here!!! Spending time with them is so refreshing. They came bearing gifts from the School of Social Work and Joy's mom!! We loved the cards and the goodies! THANKS so much everyone! You have NO idea what a Grandaddy Preston hug will do for you once you have been away from home for a month :) We have developed a Sunday night ritual with them. We go over to Alex and Lucia's, eat some yummy food, and visit for a few hours. Too bad this will only last for 3 weeks. I feel so blessed to be a part of a learning community that allows you to develop relationships that promote growth and learning on so many levels. I feel as though I have a dozen mentors. The genuine concern that the SSW professors have for us, as students and people in general, is touching.

Last Tuesday, we joined their research class at the College of Theology and Education. Is it crazy for me to say that I actually miss the classroom setting?? Well, I do. The day actually flew by and it was probably a much needed refresher as we look towards writing up our research this semester. Genie had to remind Preston to not get ahead of the translator, it is no wonder that they were famous for their team-teaching abilities. They are adorable!! I am also getting a few marriage tips here and there from the wise, happy couple that they are. I wish they could stay with us for the rest of the semester, I bet they will be ready to get back to good 'ol Baylor though.

More to come soon...lots of stories and pictures to share. We are missing everyone. Much love from Moldova :)

Balti

Let me just say, I am so sorry that it has taken me this long to update, things have been crazy busy here. Which is such a good thing, right?? On Friday, January 31, we took a day trip to Balti (pronounced Belts) for a wonderfully productive day. Leah has been working with the transitional living program that CERI has developed for children who are “graduating” from the orphanages. The participants of the program must be enrolled in high school or a professional school to be involved in the classes. The program hopes to teach the children life skills as they make the transition from the institution to independence. Leah was telling us a story about a child who literally had no idea what an egg looked like. They knew what it looked like after it was cooked and served to them, but they had no idea that an egg had a shell. They had never seen a fresh egg. How can a child who could not even identify an uncooked egg be expected to survive when they all the sudden at the age of 16 have no guidance? In response, CERI, with the amazing help of our Leah, hopes to prepare some of these kids to live happily and successfully following their release from the orphanage. Leah is so great at this too. From choosing a good roommate to budgeting, Leah is equipping these youngsters with some great information.

I had the opportunity to join Connie and Svetlana to go visit a foster family in a rural village close to Balti. This family has taken in four beautiful children. Their mother died last year from Tuberculosis and the children have been in multiple institutions from the time of her death until now. Connie was very involved in the conversation with the mother and only had time to translate parts of their interaction for me. I was forced to catch on to the dynamics of this family using non-verbal cues. It was an interesting experiment for me, especially when my assumptions were confirmed by Connie. The children seemed happy and safe in this home and the mother’s eyes and obvious concern for the well being of these kids warmed my heart. I was so ready for some time to love on kids. I love the work that I am doing, but I spend so much time researching and writing, I needed to see the energy and love that people have to share.

Pictures of Biesti