Exeter Graduates Change Lives In Moldova


FOUR students who graduated from the University of Exeter this summer have just returned from Moldova, the poorest country in Eastern Europe, where they participated in an intensive building project to benefit people living in extreme poverty. Emma Watson, Laurence Morton,


Verity Palmer and Jonathan Rollo-Walker joined a team of 16 volunteers who committed to the 10-day mission. The trip was the first of its kind to be organised by The Moldova Project, which was set up by Emma Watson and her sister in 2008 with the aim of improving living conditions in the country’s poorest villages and orphanages. The volunteers worked with families to improve their houses as well as visiting an orphanage, creating the first playroom in the village and running a summer camp for disadvantaged children. The volunteers travelled to the village of Bobeica near Chisinau, Moldova’s capital, and were shocked to see the extent of the deprivation that people are faced with there. Laurence Morton explains: “When the work was tough we were always spurred on to improve the dangerous and unsanitary conditions endured by the families. The bedding we saw was often covered in flies and situated in an exposed and cramped area.”


DIY, the group were eager to get involved in a variety of activities to improve the houses of families supported by The Moldova Project. From painting to plastering and making cement they worked with the families to build relationships and improve their quality of life. Although they had extreme heat and limited tools to contend with, the enthusiasm and determination of the volunteers enabled them to achieve a massive amount of work in a short space of time. The money for the trip had been raised through a variety of fundraising activities, such as an 160-mile walk down the River Thames that Jonathan and Emma completed in May along with two other Exeter graduates.


The British ambassador in 4 Despite having little experience of The


children of the village performing a thank you play at the Bobeica summer camp


Moldova, Keith Shannon, praised the team’s efforts, and said ‘British volunteers make a notable contribution to community and social development in Moldova and to the strengthening of relations between the people of our two countries’.


The Moldova Project are delighted with the success of the trip and the hard work of all of the


volunteers, and hope that this be the beginning of a long relationship with the people of Bobeica.


charity and the building project can be found at


emma@themoldovaproject.com


www.themoldovaproject.com or by emailing


More information about the


The 16 British volunteers along with some from Moldova


Volunteer, Jonathan-Rollo Walker with a child at the Salvati Copiii (Save The Children) orphanage


The volunteers were shocked by the cramped and unsanitary conditions endured by the families


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