Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone reading this had a nice Thanksgiving with family and friends.

There are only a few weeks left until the end of this school semester. I've been trying to do more seminars with Viorica (seminars this coming week for 11th and 12th graders on HIV/AIDS). Viorica has also been wanting to start writing a grant. This is a challenge, because most of the projects presented to me are wants instead of needs. Peace Corps funds two different types of grants, one type requiring the volunteer to find donors. Viorica would like for us to write a grant for a dental hygiene chair and dental hygiene materials in our school. We have close to 1,000 students (elementary, middle, high) and 1 village dentist. The idea sounds lovely, but the village hospital (a 20 minute walk from the school) already has all of these materials available... so why is it necessary to request thousands of dollars for these same materials to be in the school? I had a meeting with one of the PC staff about this grant idea and he suggested we work on educational materials instead of grant writing. It's very difficult to explain to many community members that just because money might be available doesn't mean that it's necessary to try to "win" a project. I'm still unhappy and unsettled by the last project (indoor bathrooms) left unfinished... a year and a half since it should have been completed... The PC staff member I spoke with suggested the option of not helping the community with a new grant since the last grant funds were irresponsibly handled.
I have concerns about this new project idea... dental care is supposed to be free for Moldovan children yet bribes are often paid. Children at our school have told me they pay to see our dentist. The dentist eagerly agreed to assist with the project idea for our school... is he agreeing because he wants to increase his income? PC suggested I discuss these payments with him. Will the kids be expected to pay to see him if he is working at the school? It's best if I stay out of their politics, but this could negatively affect the outcome of the project if the doctor is involved for the wrong reasons. If 30% or more of the students at our school have cavities or other sicknesses related to dental hygiene, is providing new check-up materials going to be a solution? You can provide the treatment, but what is being done to prevent these problems?
Most Moldovans I speak with from the villages don't know that they need to brush their teeth twice per day, or at all. Dental floss isn't available anywhere (that I've seen, at least) except Chisinau. Many toothpastes are made with honey and very little if any fluoride. Quality toothpastes with fluoride (like Colgate) are very expensive. Viorica has a dental hygiene book written in the 90s and published by the Moldovan Govt.'s Ministry of Health and this book states that honey should be consumed for strong teeth.
Viorica told the village doctor in front of me: "Melissa has been here at year in a half... will be leaving soon, and she hasn't done anything for the community yet." It's hard to deal with people seeing your time and contributions in monetary terms. I told her that I'm not here to write grants, I'm here to educate, and that educational projects are more important than anything we can buy. If the money is available, communities want to "win" these funds, whether or not they have a real need. I can see a need in my village... some sort of project dealing with trash disposal. Streams, hills, the side of the roads, everywhere you see garbage. There is no where to dispose of garbage and whatever can't be burned (or could be burned) is dumped around the neighborhood. The community has identified this as being a problem, but no one wants to take responsibility in working toward finding solutions. I want to be involved in something big, but I can't realize and fix these problems for the community. They require community ownership.

The first case of Swine Flu has been diagnosed in our neighboring village, Balasesti (Bella-sheht). Viorica just told me over the phone that local members of the Ministry of Health will visit our school tomorrow to check hygiene conditions... Some of the students wear face masks around the school. Viorica and Ecaterina (school nurses + my partners) tell these children to wear the masks only when in the corridors... I'm not sure why the classrooms are a safe zone, but I don't see this as being harmful and worth arguing. I've seen many homemade masks... it's like Halloween.