A TEAM of staff and volunteers from East Cowes-based MAD-Aid visited Moldova recently to see some of the charity’s projects.

On the first day, the team visited the Mother and Child Institute in the Moldovan capital of Chisinau, which MAD-Aid has pledged to raise money for.

There were shocking conditions, as the hospital urgently needs to refurbish two wards – a septic ward and the neonatal surgical ward – neither of which has seen any significant investment since 1986.

The neonatal ward is the only one of its kind in Moldova and operates on around 700 newborns each year.

Isle of Wight County Press: MAD-Aid's Helen McNeill dancing with one of the children at the Phoenix Centre, Riscani.MAD-Aid's Helen McNeill dancing with one of the children at the Phoenix Centre, Riscani. (Image: MAD-Aid)

The Islanders were upset to see broken tiles that have been falling off the walls, bad electrical wiring, peeling paint, and a ventilation system which has not worked for many years. 

MAD-Aid has already set up a JustGiving page at www.justgiving.com/campaign/onouaviata

Isle of Wight County Press: MAD-Aid's founder, Victoria Dunford, demonstrating to volunteers from the IW some of the sensory equipment in the early intervention area at the Phoenix Centre, Riscani.MAD-Aid's founder, Victoria Dunford, demonstrating to volunteers from the IW some of the sensory equipment in the early intervention area at the Phoenix Centre, Riscani. (Image: MAD-Aid)

The team also visited the Gheorghe Paladi Municipal Clinical Hospital in Chisinau, where the charity hopes to renovate a bathroom in the maternity unit.

On day two, the MAD-Aid team delivered medical aid to CREPOR, a rehabilitation unit, and villages where they delivered more medical equipment, food, children’s clothing, and a mobility scooter to a young man who had never had one before.

Isle of Wight County Press: The MAD-Aid team meet staff from the Mother and Child Institute in Chisinau, as well as British ambassador for Moldova, Steven Fisher, and local dignitaries.The MAD-Aid team meet staff from the Mother and Child Institute in Chisinau, as well as British ambassador for Moldova, Steven Fisher, and local dignitaries. (Image: Mad-Aid)

The team also delivered food and medical aid to a centre in Greblesti – the only centre in Moldova that has been hosting Ukrainian refugees with disabilities since March 2022.

Travelling north, the team visited the charity’s flagship project, the Phoenix Complex in Riscani, which includes a day centre for children with special needs, plus early intervention services, a care home for the elderly and a hydrotherapy pool the public can also access.

Isle of Wight County Press: MAD-Aid team members delivering medical aid to centres in Moldova. Matthew Couch, 12, among them.MAD-Aid team members delivering medical aid to centres in Moldova. Matthew Couch, 12, among them. (Image: Mad-Aid)

The visitors enjoyed a concert and craft workshop hosted by the youngsters at the Phoenix. Some of visitors also set out to construct raised plant beds for a fully accessible greenhouse at the centre.

The team took food and other items to a care home for the elderly in Nihoreni and the centre for Ukrainian refugees in Mihaileni.

Of the 16 people who went, most were visiting Moldova for the first time, and 14 of the group were from the Isle of Wight.

The visitors included some volunteers in their 60s and 70s, while the youngest was Carisbrooke College student Matthew Couch.