Open Gate International has been honored with the opportunity to partner with Temelii Tari (Strong Foundations), a Moldovan NGO, through sponsorship of its Safe Summer Program.
Over the last eight years, Mihail Chisari, the founder of Strong Foundations, has played a large role in the transformation of young men (social orphans and the vulnerable) from villages and cities across Moldova. His organization provides a valuable, structured program to largely unsupervised youth. In addition, with the school year ending and dormitories closing, these young men are tempted to seek full-time employment outside of Moldova due to many factors that contribute to youth unemployment. This often times means hard work, with little or no pay, and puts these young men at high risk of labor trafficking throughout Russia, Turkey, Israel, or other countries.
Strong Foundations summer program will utilize a hands on approach of two, full-time mentors to empower the young men by providing valuable life skills such as hygiene, conflict management, independent living, giving back to society, how to write a resume, and other positive, healthy habits. Along with the life skills portion of the summer program, the beneficiaries will be housed with the mentors in order to provide safe, structured living conditions.
One main component of the program includes the development of personal and social responsibility through helping the elderly. These outreaches will teach the youth that thinking of others and giving back is important to personal maturity.
Open Gate International believes that the Strong Foundations summer program is consistent with our mission and we are overwhelmed at the opportunity to partner for the summer. More updates to come as stories of growth and transformation are sure to follow.
