Approximately 70,000 persons will enjoy better local services as a result of contributions of people born in the respective communities, many of them working abroad. Photo: UNDP Moldova.

3,400 Moldovans who left their home communities, from all corners of the world, contributed with 1,1 million MDL for their home communities, via crowdfunding campaigns. Donations came from 25 countries. The 3-months fundraising campaigns were managed by local Natives’ Associations in close partnership with local authorities. The associations were created with support of the “Migration and Local Development” (MiDL) Project, implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and financed by the Swiss Government.

So, living conditions in 13 communities will improve, with new local services established: safe water supply, waste disposal, local roads maintenance, recreation and sports, street lighting etc.

These projects were selected by city halls after consulting citizens through online surveys. Both local population, as well as natives from the diaspora filled in the questionnaires.

Then, to ensure transparency of donations and enhance participation, crowdfunding campaigns on www.Guvern24.md were launched. The campaigns reached out to 20,000 people overall.

“These campaigns managed, for the first time, to transform migration from a challenge into an opportunity for rural communities, which is of utmost importance,” noted Adrian Ermurachi, Deputy Secretary General of the Government of the Republic of Moldova.

Overall, over 1.1 million lei (60,635 USD) investments were collected. The largest amount transferred is 500 USD, and the smallest 24 lei (1.4 USD). The budget was topped up by contributions of the city halls (127,000 USD), as well as the grants offered by the Swiss Government, of 15,000 USD per community project.

Olesea Cazacu, manager of the Migration and Local Development project, mentioned that the 13 localities have efficiently completed their first ever online fund-raising campaigns. “The Natives’ Associations have become bridges connecting the local authorities with the diaspora, which is a key element for local development. By using online tools, localities have shown transparency, and have also provided the possibility to the migrants to donate from any corner of the world.”

Most localities have exceeded the amounts proposed for collection, even with 280%. The most was collected by the natives of Copceac (UTA Gagauzia) - over 13,000 USD.

Local authorities claim that this first experience of initiating local projects with the help of natives inspired them: “We managed to bring closer the natives from all corners of the world. We noticed that most of donations received come Moldovans born in this village, but who live in the United States. We will definitely not stop here with our mobilization efforts,” said Valentina Buzu, deputy mayor of Peresecina village.

The “Migration and Local Development” project is implemented in 38 localities (25 in the first phase of the project and 13 in the second phase). The localities were selected through a public competition.