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One of the aid trucks from Children's Emergency Relief International, CERI, arriving in Pridnestrovie with help for orphans

TIRASPOL (Tiraspol Times) - In the past two weeks, American aid workers visited orphanages, correctional facilities, hospitals and boarding schools across Pridnestrovie.

The volunteers, from Children's Emergency Relief International, CERI, distributed humanitarian aid.

CERI has worked in a close partnership with Pridnestrovie for six years now. Their work here started in 2001. Since then, charitable actions have been conducted on a regular basis. They are focused primarily on providing needy children with clothing, footwear, and medicines. Whenever necessary, qualified medical assistance is also provided.

The main goal of the organization, however, is to help orphans and street children find new foster care families to live with. To make that happen, CERI works closely with local NGOs and aid groups. In Pridnestrovie, this collaboration takes place with the Tiraspol-based "Giving children a childhood" group, which provides information about homeless children to CERI. For each child, CERI then locates an American sponsor who provides a monthly sum for an adoptive family.

Santa's helper: One of CERI's aid workers helps a Pridnestrovie orphan try on a new pair of shoes donated by the American charity.

The program, known as Foster and kinship care family sponsorships, covers all the needs of a child for $135 per month. Children's Emergency Relief International describes it as "the deepest prayer of an orphan":

"The foster and kinship care family sponsorships can answer the deepest prayer of an orphan – the desire to live in a loving family who will claim them as their own. CERI is committed to finding loving families who want to help children by providing them with a subsidy that will realistically meet that child’s needs, and not just keep them at the mired poverty level. $135 per month can feed, clothe and meet the education and healthcare needs of a child and make such a prayer come true. Additionally, you have the opportunity to communicate back and forth with your sponsored child via email messages translated by our staff, a service that is available with all our sponsorships."

As part of the program, representatives from the charity conduct regular inspections of the conditions of the residence and the educational progress of each child.

Meeting with President Smirnov

In an interview with local media, Dearing Garner, CERI's regional director, explained why the organization was created. He said that the aid organization was formed in 1999 in the United States to handle donations which mostly come from Protestant churches. Despite its origins as a church-based group, CERI limits itself to charity and is not engaged in missionary work. Since the organization was founded in 1999, it has expanded operations and now helps children worldwide.

Aid is of a permanent, ongoing nature and the programs are implemented with the full support of the governments of each country. In the case of Pridnestrovie, this means the PMR government, and Dearing Garner said that he met personally with Pridnestrovie's President Igor Smirnov in 2005. During the meeting, the two sides agreed to help each other with the work done in Pridnestrovie.

Another set of disadvantaged Tiraspol kids helped Arild "Battle of the Bands" Bordøy with his latest music video. The Norwegian musician and TV cameraman filmed the music video at Pridnestrovie state-run orphanage and home for mentally handicapped kids.

American volunteers are in Tiraspol to distribute the aid among needy kids, seeing firsthand the harshness of life in an unrecognized country.

Pridnestrovie relies on private organizations for aid shipments. As an unrecognized country, it has no formal membership in the international community and no access to international government institutions. Due to a still-unresolved territorial conflict between Pridnestrovie and Moldova, foreign aid sent to Moldova is not shared with Pridnestrovie, despite occasional Moldovan claims to the contrary.

Children's Emergency Relief International (CERI) is a non-profit organization committed to helping hurting children around the world. CERI has programs in Latin America, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and most recently Africa. CERI's mission world-wide is to provide Hope for Children, Healing for Families and Help for Communities. (Photos: Olvia Press)

See also:
» More EU aid in time for Pridnestrovie's 17th independence anniversary [1]
» Scottish volunteers break aid blockade for Transdniester [2]

On the web:
» Arild Bordøy music video [3]