Republic of Moldova

CHILDREN AND GRANDPARENTS – ACTORS OF A SOCIAL THEATRE

Chişinău, 24 May 2010 – On May 24, 2010, the children whose parents are working abroad and the grandparents who look after these children from Lăpuşna, Hânceşti district, felt themselves real actors on the stage of the Social Theatre during a performance entitled „The kid with three nanny-goats”. The play, staged in Lăpuşna primary school and having a cast of 4 grandmothers and 9 children, aimed at reducing the negative impact of migration upon family members left behind and strengthening relationships between generations.

The show counted several short-plays written by Grigore Vieru which treated the role of family and the performance „The kid with three nanny-goats”, about the problems issued between generations in the families where grandparents care after their grandchildren. A melancholic song expressing a longing for parents returning home was sung by children, reflecting the impact of migration upon this category of population.

At the end of each short-play, the actor-children and actor-grandparents discussed with the audience about the importance of family and children’s wish to grow alongside with mother and father, who could work here, in their native country, and not abroad. Together, they tried to identify the reason for misunderstandings between children and grandparents through the masks of the kid and the three nanny-goats– mommy-goat, aunt-goat and grandmother-goat.

The spectators included children aged 6-11, old people, teachers and other guests. When the question (“How many children from the room live with grandparents?”) had been addressed – all the hands went up. Respectively, the topic of Social Theatre was very actual to the public. Practically, the public witnessed another scene from their day-to-day life.

The Social Theatre represents one of the activities foreseen by the project “Strengthening community-based support to multi-generational households left behind by migration in Moldova”, implemented in consortium by Second Breath and HelpAge International, and assisted financially by the EU-UN Joint Migration and Development Initiative.

The involvement of grandparents and grandchildren in the Social Theatre aims at strengthening relationships between generations and diminishing the negative impact resulted from parents’ migration upon the family members left behind. The performance has a social character. Once presented to the public, it strives to approach the existent problem in the society and jointly identify solutions to settle it. It represents a successful dovetailing of role-play, involvement of younger and elder generations in the social life for ensuring a closer communication between them.

***

The European Commission-United Nations Joint Migration and Development Initiative (JMDI) reflects the acceptance of and growing interest in the strong links between migration and development. The programme is implemented by the UNDP Brussels Office in partnership with the EC. Four agencies - UNHCR, UNFPA, ILO and IOM - are directly engaged in the management and direction of the programme and contribute their institutional knowledge, expertise and extensive networks to ensure its success.