MOLDOVA INTERNET CAFE

Trudging through the mud filled streets, a horse drawn cart splashes by as you enter through a black gate simply labeled “Internet”. You make your way through the courtyard kicking the mud from your shoes then enter the whitewashed building. Next you enter a room where people are actively sitting in front of monitors, clicking on the keyboards. Some are researching school projects, others are emailing and IM’ing with loved ones who have moved away, while others are producing marketing signage for their small business.

The 10 computer Internet Café in Antoneşti, Moldova is the first of many small businesses to be started by Communitas (www.Communitas.md). Communitas is a small group of Christian Moldovans who have a vision to contribute to a social, economical and spiritual transformation in the different communities of Moldova. They purchased the old communist bath house in Antoneşti which is large enough to house several businesses that are needed to help the community improve – the first of which was the Internet Café. Here they not only have open hours where people can come in and rent time on the computers, but there are computer training sessions for those who don’t know how to use the computers, for those that want to use the computers to improve their business and even training for the farmers on how to farm more effectively. Other businesses are to follow including a pasta making factory, a greenhouse, a tailoring workshop, and a mini-bakery.

eDOT is partnering with Communitas by helping them make the Internet Café run more efficiently by installing Internet café control software and Internet filtering, teaching the administrators more about Linux and its administration, and loading appropriate open source software that will be a benefit for those coming to use the Internet Café.

Do you have a group of people that could help teach a basic computer skills class for a week? Are you familiar with Linux and would like to share your skills? Want to help with the construction of the other business initiatives in the bath house? Talk to us about how you could get involved in helping Communitas work in Antoneşti and other villages around Moldova.