Inclusion Starts in Kindergarten: First Resource Center Inaugurated in a Rural Preschool in Cahul District

Today, on June 20, 2025, the NGO Regional Center for Community Development (CRDC) organized the community event "A.R.I.P.I. – Together for Inclusion and Progress," during which the first Resource Center for Inclusive Education (CREI) within a rural preschool institution in Cahul district was officially inaugurated. The center was opened within the "Clopoțelul" Kindergarten in Crihana Veche, with the support of the East-Europe Foundation, from financial resources provided by Sweden and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), under the program “Active Citizens, Prosperous Communities.”

The event brought together children, parents, teachers, representatives of local authorities, and civil society. Participants visited the new center, fully equipped with appropriate furniture, inclusive teaching materials, and IT equipment. The atmosphere was warm and emotional, marked by artistic moments performed by the children – songs, poems, and dances with inclusive themes. The most touching moment of the event was when parents, together with their children, symbolically wrote what inclusion means to them on flowers, which were later placed on the "tree of inclusion" – a symbol of unity and acceptance.

The initiative is part of the project "A.R.I.P.I. – Assistance and Resources for Individual Progress and Inclusion," launched in October 2024 by CRDC, which aims to transform Crihana Veche into a model of good practice for the inclusion of children with special educational needs, as well as for promoting equitable education for all children, regardless of their individual characteristics.

All local initiatives supported under this project through the East-Europe Foundation have demonstrated community mobilization. In the case of this project, such mobilization generated the support of the authorities to operationalize a Resource Center for Inclusive Education within the kindergarten. The CRDC team succeeded in assessing institutional capacities, arranging and equipping the space, and ensuring that children with special educational needs and their families now benefit from quality services and, most importantly, personalized educational support – Carolina BLAJIN, Program Coordinator, East-Europe Foundation.

The importance of this center was also emphasized by the local public administration, which was actively involved in this process of transformation:

The inauguration of the Resource Center within the Kindergarten marks an important milestone in the development of educational services in our locality. This center is a concrete response to the needs of children who require additional support in the learning process, providing specialized resources, counseling, psycho-pedagogical assistance, and support for teachers and parents. The CREI thus becomes an essential pillar in promoting inclusive education, ensuring equal opportunities for all children. For our community, the Resource Center is more than just a well-equipped space – it is an investment in the future, in equity, and in the values of a modern and inclusive society – Igor MICLAUȘ, Mayor of Crihana Veche.

Throughout the project, essential actions were implemented to develop an inclusive framework in the community: the formation of a multidisciplinary inclusion commission, the hiring of a psycho-pedagogue in the kindergarten (a first for the locality), organizing training sessions for teaching staff, and carrying out advocacy campaigns in institutions and online to promote educational inclusion.

The center inaugurated today is a concrete result of the A.R.I.P.I. project and an important step toward strengthening inclusive education in rural areas. We aim for this initiative to become a functional model for other localities, and we are committed to actively supporting its replication and adaptation at the regional level – Irina BEJAN, Director of CRDC.

The NGO Regional Center for Community Development is an active organization in southern Moldova that supports civic and educational initiatives, contributing to community mobilization and strengthening citizens' active participation in local development processes.