For more than half a year, the employees of the emergency medical point in Bobeica, Hâncești district, served the inhabitants of several villages in the area with a rusty sanitary ware, produced at the end of the ’90s. The ambulance was used in the absence of an ambulance that had been assigned to the Bobeica Emergency Medical Assistance Unit in 2018, but it broke down just a few months after reaching the Assistance Unit.

Given that the repair of the ambulance lasted more than half a year, a young man from Bobeica, who emigrated abroad, decided not to wait until the authorities solve this problem, so he initiated a fundraiser to procure an ambulance.

Ziarul de Garda wrote about the problems in Bobeica village, Hîncești district, the center of Moldova, back in November 2019. A ZdG reporter went to Cărpineni and Bobeica villages, in the center of Moldova. The reporter wanted to see the improvements of the medical services after the authorities distributed in the territory several ambulances, bought from the state budget money. The Bobeica Emergency Medical Assistance Unit also received a new ambulance.

• Backstage Purchases of Ambulances: Criminal Cases, Non-compliances and Political Affiliations

However, when the ZdG reporters arrived in Bobeica they found a rusty ambulance instead of the new Russian ambulance, purchased by the authorities. 

Then, the employees of the emergency point told us that the ambulance received from the state broke down a few months later, and since April 2019 it is in Chișinău to be repaired.

The doctors had to transport patients with an ambulance designed during the Soviet period. Subsequently, a young man from Bobeica decided to start a fundraising company to procure a new ambulance for his native village:

“Dear villagers of Bobeica, Dahnovici, Drăguşeni, Stolniceni, Şipoteni villages who are abroad, I am addressing you with a proposal and a request to collaborate in buying an ambulance necessary for our villages. It is an essential thing to ensure urgent medical services. The ambulance that is currently being used is in very bad shape, which endangers the lives of many patients and medical staff.”

Following the campaign, the young collected about 10,000 euros and bought a new ambulance. 

“The boy who collected the money is a native of Bobeica. He visited the village and saw the ambulance, and came up with this initiative. He called me and asked me how to keep the new ambulance in the village. Previously, we had an ambulance from Spain, but it was taken from us and now we don’t know where it is. We decided to register the ambulance for the City Halls and lend it to the Emergency Medical Assistance service. In this way, we can make sure the ambulance will not be taken again,” said the mayor of Bobeica commune, Lilian Musteață.

Although the Russian ambulance returned to Bobeica in December 2019, the group of Moldovans settled abroad bought a new ambulance, and offered it as humanitarian aid for the town hall of Bobeica. The ambulance will be used by the Bobeica, Dragușeni, Dahnovici, Stolniceni, and Șipoteni villages. 

“We have already done the customs clearance and we will register it when the Public Service Agency will resume its work.

We have all the approvals, only the registration remains. We hope that after the emergency situation ends we will be able to organize the legal transmission of the ambulance to the institution that will manage the transport unit. Once again, I sincerely thank everyone, and last but not least, Mr. Alexandru Grițuc, a native of Stolniceni village, who took care of and brought in good condition the ambulance from Germany to Moldova, Bobeica,” says the mayor.

“Citizens collected less than 10,000 euros. The cost of the ambulance was about 7,000 euros, plus travel expenses. There is some money left and they told us that they want to buy some more tires, batteries and already if they will need equipment,” states Lilian Musteață.

Thus, the employees of the Emergency Assistance Unit in Bobeica will have two ambulances: the basic one, returned from the repair, but also the ambulance received from donations.