Message from the Executive Director of the International Centre “La Strada” marking 25 years of the organization’s impact

What does a quarter of a century of change mean to us?

If we had to answer in one word, we would say IMPACT. In more detail, 25 years mean thousands of people we have met at some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives.

We sometimes ask ourselves: what would these women’s and girls’ lives have looked like if “La Strada” had not existed? Would Ana have found the confidence to build a new family after years of violence? Would Mihaela have found the courage to walk down the street alone after the rape that completely changed her life? Would Maria have found peace knowing that her intimate photos were still circulating online?

We will never know the answer. But we do know that, in each of these stories, we did not leave them alone. We chose to stand by them.

A quarter of a century ago, we set out with an idea that continues to define our mission today: no one should have to face the threat to their freedom, safety or dignity alone.

Back then, we did not know how many roads we would travel. We did not know how many stories we would hear. How many doors we would open. How many calls we would receive. How many “I don’t know what to do” would, over time, become “now I know where to go and what to do.” We did not know either that, one day, we would become a leading organization in the field of protection and safety, a mature organization, generating meaningful impact and grounded in a strong organizational culture, recognized both nationally and internationally.

Twenty-five years have taught us that starting over can sometimes be difficult, but it is not impossible when you have the right people by your side. On our anniversary, we do not want simply to look back and count the years. We want to look at the women and girls we have met along the way and at what could help them, today, take their next step and start over. A new beginning can mean different things to each of them: a repaired roof, a course, a job, equipment to start or develop a business, clothes for a child, and more. This is how the “25 Years – 25 New Beginnings” campaign was born: from the desire for our anniversary to be not only about the 25 years that have passed, but about 25 lives that can move forward. And for that, we need every person who believes that even the smallest gesture can change the beginning of a story.

I warmly invite you to stand with us in supporting 25 new beginnings for women and girls who deserve the chance to start over: to have a life where they no longer have to live in fear, where they can work, learn, raise a child, dream and, simply, be well.

More information about the campaign is available here: https://yurl.lastrada.md/820ys

These two and a half decades of work are, first and foremost, about people and the thousands of journeys that have become safer for them — our beneficiaries — as well as all the roads we still have ahead of us.

With appreciation to everyone who has been, is, and will remain part of this story.

Elena Botezatu
Executive Director
International Centre “La Strada”