French translation of : The Sound of Change in Moldova: how community advocacy strengthened speech support for children
What began as a local concern over long waits for much needed speech therapy, grew into a powerful community-led advocacy success — bringing five extra therapists to help children in Drochia catch up with their peers.
The challenge
Despite growing need, only one speech therapist was available in 2023. Children with speech disorders in Drochia — estimated at around 800 in total, or 18% of the child population — faced long waiting times and limited access to care. Many of these children are from rural areas, where there was no access to pre-school speech therapy.
For example, in rural areas without speech therapy services, more than 130 children were identified with speech difficulties, and over 100 were already experiencing academic challenges — signalling a clear link between early speech support and later learning outcomes.
Today, there are five speech therapists in Drochia. However, challenges remain. The current system for assigning therapists is based on kindergarten size rather than actual need, which often excludes smaller or rural centres and reinforces inequity.
It is the quiet hour of the early afternoon at the kindergarten Floricica (“Little Flower”) in the city of Drochia, Moldova. The children are resting or quietly drawing and doing puzzles, yet from somewhere, unexpected sounds drift into the stillness. A horse neighing? And now… a chicken clucking?
Down the hall, in a small, warmly decorated room, three people sit close together in front of a large mirror — Elena Fricățel and two young boys. On the low desk before them are cards with drawings of a horse, a chicken, a pair of scissors and a hammer. As Elena pulls out a card with a cat and then another with a trumpet, the source of the noise becomes clear: the boys enthusiastically begin miaowing and making trumpeting sounds.
For Galina Mazur, director of Floricica, the sounds that now and then drift into her office are not a cause for concern, but a sign that things in Drochia have changed for the better.
“For a while now, Drochia has seen a growing number of children with speech disabilities severe enough to pose a serious challenge to their future education and development. But finally, there are now enough speech therapists in the district to provide these children with timely and qualified support,” she says.
Illustrating the problem was the first step
In 2023, there was only one speech therapist in all Drochia, responsible for more than 90 children with identified support needs — an overwhelming caseload that left many children on waiting lists without timely intervention, ultimately jeopardizing their education.
“Without early support, children with speech disorders risk falling behind in reading and writing, facing frustration and isolation, and even being mislabelled as slow learners — consequences that can affect their confidence and education for years to come,” says Galina Chistrea, head of the district Centre for Psycho-Pedagogical Assistance (SAP).
As the need continued to grow, it became clear that the existing system was not enough. Galina Chistrea therefore teamed up with the local NGO Rehabilitation center for children with disabilities “Încredere”, which is a member of the national education coalition APSCF in Moldova, to raise awareness and mobilise support for prioritising speech therapy in early education institutions in Drochia.
“Very early in the process, they reached out to APSCF, and we worked with the local advocates to illustrate the scale of the problem and gather evidence of the impact that increasing access to speech therapy would have,” Viorica Cojocaru, Advocacy Officer, APSCF.
To illustrate the scale of the problem, they conducted assessments in kindergartens and schools, documenting more than 245 children with speech disorders in Drochia alone. They then engaged parents, educators and school management in consultations to validate the findings and raise awareness of the issue, helping to build support for district-level action. Ultimately, they submitted the findings to the Drochia Rayon Council, along with data showing how the lack of early support disproportionately affects children from rural and low-income households and is linked to poor emotional well-being and school exclusion.
The result?
The Drochia City Council responded by increasing the budget allocation for speech therapy. Funds were secured for two additional therapists in 2024 and for two more in 2025, bringing the total number of therapists to five and expanding access to early support across the district.
“Galina Chistrea can be very persuasive,” says Nina Cereteu with a quiet chuckle. As Mayor of Drochia, she helped secure the backing of the rest of the city council. “Early childhood development is a key priority for me, and the representatives from local civil society made it clear that speech therapy is worth prioritising to ensure good conditions for our children,” she says.
My son had speech difficulties, and because of that he hardly interacted with anyone. Now he’s able to form sentences and express himself, and we see him playing and engaging with other children.
Tamara Dumitrașmother of a five-year-old boy at Floricica Kindergarten
Early childhood development is a key priority for me, and SAP and APSCF made it clear that speech therapy is worth prioritising to ensure good conditions for our children.
Nina CereteuMayor, Drochia
When I first meet children with speech difficulties, they are often fearful and withdrawn. With therapy, they gradually overcome those barriers, learn to communicate, and gain the confidence to develop other important skills and social connections.
We worked with local advocates to illustrate the scale of the problem and gather evidence of the impact that increasing access to speech therapy would have — how it would improve the lives and education of affected children, support their parents, and benefit society as a whole.
Viorica Cojocaru Advocacy Officer, APSCF.
For a while now, Drochia has seen a growing number of children with speech disabilities severe enough to pose a serious challenge to their future education and development. But finally, there are now enough speech therapists in the district to provide these children with timely and qualified support.
Galina Mazur director of Floricica
A success that must now be sustained
The expansion has significantly increased access to early support across the district. With five therapists now in place, waiting times have been reduced, rural kindergartens are better covered, and more children are identified and supported earlier. Today, more than 150 children are receiving much-needed support to overcome their difficulties, catch up with their peers, and participate fully in classroom learning.
“Moreover, the strengthened support has helped reduce disparities between urban and rural areas and improved early identification and intervention — particularly for children who might otherwise have been labelled as slow learners or disengaged,” says Viorica Cojocaru, APSCF.
While the hiring of new therapists marks a major win, new national regulations risk undoing this progress. A 2024 Ministry of Education directive ties full-time speech therapy positions only to kindergartens with at least 12 groups — a threshold met by only the one largest kindergarten in Drochia.
“Next step is therefore to sustain the improvement by advocate for a revised model that allocates therapists based on the number of children with speech disorders, not the size of the institution — an approach that better reflects the realities of rural and under-resourced communities,” says Galina Chistrea, SAP.
Back at Floricica, the speech therapy session continues undisturbed. “Suuuper,” Elena Fricățel says, exaggerating the rolling r’s. The boys concentrate. “Machina,” one of them says carefully — then adds a determined “brrrr” that travels proudly down the corridor.
What began as a local concern over long waits for much needed speech therapy, grew into a powerful community-led advocacy success — bringing five extra therapists to help children in Drochia catch up with their peers. By Malene Aadal Bo.