Government opens new home for street children

PMR's current President, Igor Smirnov, cuts the ribbon to Tiraspol's new home for street children

TIRASPOL (Tiraspol Times) - When it comes to caring for its weakest, South Eastern Europe has a dismal reputation. The orphanages of post-Soviet states have, rightly, been singled out as some of the worst on earth. But in 1998 the government of independent Pridnestrovie set out to change that, and for the past eight years the young but unrecognized nation has been one of the brighter spots in the region.

Now, with the opening of a new care center for street children, there is even more reason to celebrate. In Tiraspol, the capital of Pridnestrovie, a completely refurnished and renovated center for orphans just opened with facilities and installations surpassing anything seen in nearby countries such as Moldova, Romania or Ukraine.

The bright and airy center can house up to 150 parentless children. It contains an on-site school, playground and computer workshop, not to mention a library with books in both English and in the three official languages of Pridnestrovie: Russian, Ukrainian and cyrillic Moldovan.

Surprise inauguration gift: A bus

The center was inaugurated by Pridnestrovie's current President, Igor Smirnov, 64, who brought a surprise with him when he cut the ribbon: A brand new "Gazelle" tourbus. Teachers at the care center told Tiraspol Times that the small bus will help them a lot. With the bus, they can arrange excursions and take the kids to see other parts of their country, as well as use it for the day to day activities of the care center.

The first care center for orphans and street children was opened in Tiraspol by the PMR government in 1998. The building, which had a capacity for 40 children, received up to 150 children at peak times during the past eight years. According to state-run news agency Olvia Press, it was overloaded and not able to provide the best possible care for the children in optimal conditions.

Pridnestrovie, alternatively known as Transnistria, declared independence 16 years ago, on 2 September 1990. Although the small country's independence declaration has largely gone unrecognized, it exercises full and complete sovereignty over a territory of more than 4,000 square km and a population of over half a million people. As part of its de facto statehood, its government provides all the normal services expected of a well-functioning European country, including free schooling and housing of orphans and street children. (With information from Olvia Press)