Argidius Foundation
CRS' partnership with the Argidius Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the COFRA Group, an international corporation, began in the late 1990s, when the foundation was among the first to support CRS' microfinance programs.
Olessa Rozovel sews clothes in a small factory in Tirgul Vertiuieni, a rural village in Moldova. Moldova is one of the poorest countries in Europe, and jobs there are very scarce. Many women are driven by poverty to seek work abroad, separating from their children and sometimes being trafficked into prostitution. CRS works with socially conscious employers to provide job training and guaranteed employment in safe jobs. CRS participants now work in banks as tellers, in retail stores as cashiers, and as seamstresses for clothing manufacturers like this one--Floriana Fashion. Photo by Laura Sheahen/CRS
In 2007, CRS and the foundation began a new stage in their partnership with the foundation's support for a pilot job creation program in rural Moldova. The success of the Moldova pilot led to the foundation's support of the project's three-year expansion. In 2009, the foundation and CRS launched a job creation project for cacao farmers in rural Nicaragua. To date, the Argidius Foundation has generously provided more than $2 million in support of CRS programs.
The JOBS Plus Program: More Jobs, More Opportunities in Rural Moldova
The JOBS Plus program, which began a three-year scale-up phase in January 2009, is helping communities in rural Moldova create at least 1,500 sustainable new jobs.
People's need for a stable income is critical in this country that was once a Soviet republic and is now one of Europe's poorest countries. Two-thirds of Moldova's poor live in rural areas and are deeply affected by the deterioration of public services and the post-Soviet collapse of the agriculture sector.
A common coping strategy for people has been to migrate from their rural towns to large cities in Moldova or other countries. Young women who migrate are particularly vulnerable to exploitation, including human trafficking, which is highly organized and widespread in the region. Migration for employment also erodes the social stability of rural communities and individual families.
Through the JOBS Plus program, families and communities work with CRS to address these economic and social challenges by:
- Establishing partnerships with employers in rural areas
- Providing rural workers with skills training that meets employers' needs
- Facilitating job placement for trained workers
- Initiating local social investment funds that rural residents can use for community improvements
The program prioritizes creation of dignified employment opportunities for rural youth and women.
From January 2009 through June 2010, people in rural Moldova have experienced the following transformative impacts in their lives and communities:
- 321 new job positions created in 14 of Moldova's 32 administrative regions
- 14 partner businesses have signed on to the project
- Increased diversity of employment opportunities. Partner employers represent seven sectors of the Moldovan economy: garment, agro-processing, import, distribution, and wholesale of grocery products, manufacturing, and entertainment/leisure.
- Initiation of community project support systems by all partner businesses, for community social investment, including $6,000 leveraged from a partner business to build medical units in schools in target communities.
Read about some of the women who have benefited from this project.
For more information on the Argidius Foundation, please visit http://www.argidius.com/en/default.asp.
