Moldova Certificates for MOVE trainers in Transnistria

Project : MOVE 31 Oct 2011 | psychosocial

Tiraspol, October 5, 2011: The MOVE training of 9 animators from 6 educational institutions In Transnistria back in March of this year was completed now, when participants were given their certificates during a small ceremony at the “Cares and attention to the childhood” office in Tiraspol.

The head of the foundation, Oleg Mikhailov, started the meeting by telling some interesting stories related to the educational system in Transnistria in comparison to other countries. Then the official part of the meeting took place: handing the certificates and shaking hands.

The most interesting part was the discussion about the work of the animators, who have already applied their knowledge in MGS methodology when working with pupils. They started by playing the games during school hours, in a way making publicity for the children. A lot of them found these games appealing, so they continued to attend the after-school MOVE activities. But the beginning of a new school year makes it difficult to schedule any activity, as there still isn’t a working timetable of the lessons. Nevertheless, from the activities that have already been organized until now the animators say that they did notice some changes in the children’s behavior. “There is this boy that was always in trouble, skipping school, bad-mouthing, reticent at any activity and even aggressive. But after being involved in MOVE activities he really changed. When his mother, who is physically challenged, would attend these games he was very happy to explain her everything he was doing and about the games he was playing.” says one of the animators from the Educational Social Center Olga Pleteniuc. Indeed, everybody noticed that the children that attend the activities are more open, they relate better to each other and they can more easily build a functional team. But even with all the positive outcomes of these activities, the system is not yet responsive to the program, this making it hard to implement.

Another thing that these animators need, besides the implementation of MOVE activities in the school curricula, is more games. The children love the ones that they know, but they always ask for more. “And maybe some more training”, confesses another animator, “because sometimes we get stuck and don’t know what to do in particular situations, or we do it incorrectly. Even if we realize that, still it’s quite difficult to understand what could be the solution and how to approach it.”

Most of the animators wish to continue working with the children using the MGS methodology. But even if they don’t organize special lessons for these activities, they do use this approach in interacting with children during the school hours. (MS)