Everyday PR

Plate-size sunflowers. Endless rolling hills. Plentiful fruit orchards.  Not a scene from a Tuscan postcard, but a typical countryside view in Moldova, a small Eastern European country regarded as the world’s hub for human trafficking.

I recently returned from a mission trip there to Straseni Orphanage, a government-run facility that’s clearly bottom of the budgetary totem pole.  Remember the outhouse scene in “Slumdog Millionaire”?  The institution’s bathrooms were slightly above that, which explains the pungent smell of sulphur everywhere.

At the same location were the most beautiful children I’ve ever seen. I’d heard that many couples go to Eastern European countries to adopt native children as they look most like Americans.  I disagree.  Moldovan children are much prettier.

We worked with children ages 4 to 16.  The innocence of the youngest was refreshing and heartwarming.  The teachers consistently displayed their genuine concern for the orphans, and they even had a separate cook to prepare meals.  The funding must be greater for preschoolers.

The older the kids were, the less innocent they were – similar to this country, but in a different and awkward way.  Pre-teens wore provocative, albeit cheap, clothes like halter tops, tight jeans, spike heels and huge earrings.  I asked my translator about it, and she said two words: “Brittany Spears.” As if these girls didn’t have enough to worry about with kidnapping and trafficking, they think they have to emulate a Western pop star who most Americans regard as a joke.

Moldova’s beauty is best seen through its natural scenery, purity of fresh food and virtue of its youngsters. Although the country is a long way off from impacting human trafficking, I find it  sad to see how Western influences have infiltrated an otherwise traditional and beautiful environment.