Home | Cars | Inventions | What & Where | Tourist Info | Business Info | Classifieds | About | Archive
Laws of Moldova
Levintsa & Associates
Phone Store GSM
Limo and Taxi Service
IMG
Welcome Art Gallery
Dog Club Veterenary Service
Advertise With Us!

Rotary Club: Trial and Error

With the New Year approaching fast the season of corporate parties, Christmas dinners, and charity balls has commenced in the Moldovan capital. If you are in the right place at the right time it is very easy to turn into a social nomad, moving from one party to the next and barely remembering to change clothes in between.

On December 13 I was lucky enough to participate in one of Chisinau's Christmas Charity Balls. The event was organized by members of the Rotary Club. According to the opening speech the club was founded over 100 years ago and today exists in many countries around the globe. And indeed the information published on the club's international web site, confirms that there are nearly 1.2 million members from over 30 thousand clubs in 166 countries.

The cost of the entrance tickets was $35. Besides that lottery tickets could be procured at 20 lei each at any time before the evening of the ball in Dedeman Hotel. As the organizers made haste to mention, the money collected will go to charity, in particular, funds will be directed to providing material help to an orphanage and purchasing medical equipment for a children's hospital.

Members of the club or Rotarians, as they are called, chose a popular venue – the Lobby Restaurant in Dedeman Hotel. On the steps to the restaurant guests were greeted by two of the members. They presented the ladies with white carnations and shook hands with the gentlemen. This ceremoniousness left a peculiar impression, primarily because it was difficult to understand which one of the two Rotarians, who welcomed everyone in several different languages, was the actual president of the club.

Soon tables were assigned and the guests were requested to take their seats. The dinner began with a cold starter. In the breaks between the courses there was plenty of time to pay attention to the entertainment program of the ball. Some of the most exciting moments were the performances of dance company Teodor and singer Natalia Barbu . A hot starter preceded the entrée. Restaurant waiters struck me with unusually well-organized work in clearing and laying the tables.

In the period before the main course I got a chance to see who was among the company at the ball. Tables made the guests feel somewhat uptight at first, but a few glasses of wine put everyone in a lighter mood and dancing began. The Rotary Club however gathered a very diverse crowd. Representatives of the American Embassy and other diplomatic missions were seated in one part of the restaurant, members of the local elite – in the other. From a national representation angle the club was probably not completely successful in creating an atmosphere of intercultural understanding and goodwill.

In my opinion, the biggest fall-through at the function was the absence or lack of a real host that would have paid attention to the guests and made sure they were enjoying themselves. This important feature of any party was unfortunately missing. IMF Resident Representative in Moldova, Edgardo Ruggiero played an active part in organizing the ball. However, for some reason he decided to leave this function, which many would have found pleasant and involving no implications. Thus there was a slight awkwardness in the air and the smiles were a bit forced. There was no one to address to obtain information regarding the entertainment program at the beginning of the evening; closer to the end I had doubts as to whom I should say goodbye to and whether that was at all necessary.

In our capital where the culture for similar functions is only being established it is important to support, advise and guide the guests. A person attending an event must feel comfortable and at ease. It was also a mistake on the part of the organizers not to mention the form of attire. Due to this some of the guests wore bow ties and formal dresses, while others were clad in suits and cocktail outfits. An atmosphere of friendly warm interaction did not work out either. And that is going back to the host, who was not there to introduce the guests to each other, help them relax and make it a pleasant and interesting evening for everyone

I find it hard to believe that even members of the club themselves have made any serious new acquaintances with representatives of the business and professional community, which is one of the goals of Rotary International. The possibility of effecting change in society was minimized to the obvious cause, that of charitable donations. Nobody will dare to argue with the honorable nature of such aspirations, but there is a chance nevertheless that these aspirations were not supported with sufficient effort on the part of the organizers.

There are plenty of good ideas. Rotary Club is trying to implement new and beautiful traditions in Moldovan society and this alone deserves praise. However, I am confident that members of the business and professional community will agree that excellence and success lies in the details.

The composition of the company to some extent is more a question of good luck when we talk about a first-time social event. The presence of US Ambassador to Moldova, Heather Hodges was a pleasant surprise especially considering how carefully diplomats of her rank usually select the functions to attend. First Secretary of the German Embassy, Regina Lochner, a big connoisseur of music, attended with great attention to the performance of Natalia Barbu. Ms. Lochner and her husband left the ball some time before the end.

Before dessert was served the organizers held the lottery draw. The lucky tickets were picked from a glass container, numbers and then the names of the winners were called out according to the list of people that participated in the lottery. At first when smaller prizes were put up members of the club declined to accept them when their tickets were drawn. But in the end it turned out that the main prize – a roundtrip ticket to any destination in Germany or Italy was given away to a Rotarian.

I am firmly convinced that this was unacceptable. Had this lottery draw taken place in a country, where similar things have long been common, everyone would have been simply appalled. In a country like Moldova this issue should have been approached with special care and delicacy considering the specificity of local interpretations. Of course it would not be fair to blame the organizers and claim that they staged the whole thing and cheated the guests. I see it more as a grave and serious mistake on their part that may undermine people's trust in the future.

These are the small details that contribute to the successful realization of an idea. The prestige of the Rotary Club, the special status of its members, and the emphasis on the need to help children and contribute to a good cause will hardly be of assistance if society does not feel keenly the importance of this public appeal and does not see sincerity of words on practice. I hope that in the future the club will be able to organize many more similar events. No doubt it will be able to prove, despite even the most constructive criticism that a good idea can and should be continued with.

By Natalia Corobco

P.S. Later on from Mr. Ruggiero I found out that Executive Director of Alianta Prosperarii Foundation, Christophe Eme is the President of Rotary in Moldova. Today the club has 23 members but there are plans for enlargement to 27-28 people by the end of Rotary's fiscal year. The club was authorized in May 2003 by the regional center in Brasov, Romania. After an official agreement in September it was accepted by Rotary International.

Since the beginning of activities in May the sum of $10,000 has been donated by Rotary Italy to two Moldovan associations. Local Rotarians disbursed the funds in concordance with identified and authorized expenses. In October during the week of the Wine Festival the club organized a seminar attended by members from Turkey and France. In December Rotary sponsored an event for children with disabilities held by Rotarac (club program for young adults 18-30 years of age).

© 2001 - 2020 WELCOME-MOLDOVA.COM. All rights reserved.