Republic of Moldova

BUMAD Programme at the Europe Day in Kiev - original approach through the Pyramid of Health

BUMAD shares Health with the people

Thousands of people in the centre of Kyiv tasted for free 9 000 pieces of biscuits, oranges, apples, as well as bottles of water, from the Pyramid of Health built with the support of the EU-UNDP funded BUMAD (Belarus, Ukraine andMoldova Against Drugs) Programme at the Europe Day in Kiev on May 20. The Pyramid means healthy food is better than drugs. Thus, all people around expressed themselves against drugs , close to Liliya Podkopayeva, a triple crowned Queen of Gymnastics, United Nations GoodwillAmbassador in Ukraine, who greeted all with the Europe Day, spoke about the vitality of healthy lifestyle and showed her courtesy by sharing her “brick of health”, a pack of biscuits, with the attendants of the event.

The Pyramid was built during 5 hours in European Day by the representatives of the Ministry of Interior, non-governmental organizations, former drug users, BUMAD staff and volunteers. “It was a real physical exercise almost all that day of Saturday, with join efforts we showed people that there are other more interesting things in our life than drugs”, said Natalia Petrova, a teenager volunteer.

The Pyramid of Health was the unique and original construction, organized by the EU-UNDP funded BUMAD Programme. The BUMAD Manager in Ukraine , Yuri Gavryliuk, who designed the event, also moderated the inauguration of the pyramid conducting a few quizzes before the official opening. Those people who demonstrated knowledge of the main aspects of BUMAD Programme and acceptance of the healthy lifestyle were rewarded with souvenirs. The BUMAD Manager in Moldova , Mihai Beregoi, who built the strong base of the pyramid underlined that cooperation between state agencies, civil society and international organizations to combat drug phenomena is important aspect for the future development of our countries.

The idea of healthy lifestyle was afterwards reinforced by a giveaway procedure. The moderator and his assistance on the stage encouraged all present to raise hands and to move to get one of ”piece” of the pyramid. Those attendants who were willing to get a “brick” had to jump high to catch it. 

About Pyramid

The Pyramid consisted of 9000 bottles of drinking water, packs of biscuits, apples and oranges put together in the form of two-meter high pyramid. Each piece of the 'construction' had a sticker with a phrase “Check me out! I'm natural“. The biggest share of builders came from a non-governmental Ukrainian organization - Institute for Drug Addiction and Drug Crime. The organization contributed to the installation, its management, partners, and importantly its clients - former drug addicts, who decided to do away with drug addiction. The event was aired and reported to wider audience by a number of media sources, including The Channel Five.

Conceptually, the pyramid was built to realize a few objectives. First of all, it is a symbol. The pyramid itself symbolizes the necessity and usefulness of basic foodstuffs that are the most natural alternative to drugs as a source of pleasure. The pyramid also symbolizes cooperation of international organizations, national authorities, NGOs and, remarkably, former drug addicts.

Secondly, the pyramid is an outreach tool and allows to get the profoundly needed publicity of the drug addiction problem in Belarus , Ukraine and Moldova . It is well-known that former soviet countries from Eastern of Europe , in terms of drug addiction and HIV/AIDS prevalence trends, are among the world leaders. That is why installing such a 'construction' in the capital of Ukraine is an opportunity to emphasize the need to resolve drug addiction epidemic in new and effective ways.

Europe Day is young but popular holiday in Ukraine . The combination of its popularity with the promotion of healthy lifestyle is a good opportunity for all involved to think about their own health.

About BUMAD

Since BUMAD inception, it has handed over to its partners' office equipment, cars, special analytical and detecting equipment, printed materials worth hundreds thousand Euros. The programme has successfully held a number of conferences, seminars and workshops. All of them are to fight the spread of drugs in Belarus , Ukraine and Moldova .

This year the Moldovan share of the programme budget is 500 000 Euros, with 450 000 coming from the European Union, and the rest from United Nations Development Programme in Ukraine . It must be mentioned, that the latter organization, that applies modern approaches and utilizes international experience, implements BUMAD since the establishment of the programme in 2003.