TAKE 5: From Wilmington to Moldova

TAKE 5

by AMY PASSARETTI photo by TERAH WILSON

DONNA FLAKE has visited the country of Moldova eight times but has been involved in aiding the health of its residents for years. As the New Hanover Medical Library librarian for twenty-eight years, Flake established the first consumer health library in North Carolina – based in Wilmington – in 1999. Now retired, she’s using her background and experience to advocate for access to updated health resources for Moldova, one of the poorest countries in Eastern Europe. With the help of proceeds from the Moldovan Wine and Food Tasting on January 18, sponsored by Wilmington East Rotary Club, Flake hopes to raise enough funds to support a global grant, which would establish health education libraries abroad. Info: wilmingtoneastrotary.com/moldovan

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA? “I was asked by the Minister of Health from Moldova to help the only medical library in Moldova, which is at the University of Moldova. … This is the poorest country in Europe, but they strive to do their very best. The literacy rate of the country is 98%, so the people are intelligent. Most of the people speak one of these two languages: Romanian or Russian.” WHAT KIND OF IMPACT HAS NORTH CAROLINA, WILMINGTON SPECIFICALLY, HAD ON THE HEALTH OF MOLDOVA CITIZENS? “When I first went to Moldova in 2006, they probably had about 200 English language medical books that were out of date, and they had thousands of Russian medical books, at least 25 years out of date. They did not have current authoritative medical information at the one medical university in the country. North Carolina libraries, including the New Hanover Medical Library, sent more than 350,000 current medical books and journals. This greatly increased the knowledge and ability for them to practice 21st-century medicine with resources they never had before.” WHAT ARE YOUR HOPES FOR THE FUTURE OF THIS PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN NORTH CAROLINA AND MOLDOVA, AND HOW DO YOU INTEND TO CARRY THAT OUT? “Currently our partnership involves many libraries in North Carolina partnering with Moldovan libraries, and I’d like to increase that number, so things like webinars can be given to increase knowledge. Now they’re all going through COVID, and it’s been hard on these libraries to have the time and staff to attend the webinars we’d like to present. One hope is for things to get back to normal so we can have more coordination and teaching involving more libraries.” WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU WISH OTHERS KNEW ABOUT THE EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRY? “The people. They are resourceful, kind, generous, and are some of the most loving and thoughtful people I have ever met. I want people to know how hard they work, how much they strive to make a living, and they need a hand up. The librarians I’ve worked with don’t make a lot of money. We try hard to help them all we can and not only work with the libraries but elevate the economy of the country of Moldova.” WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOLDOVAN DISH? “Placinte (a round, flat bread commonly stuffed with cheese). It’s a wonderful dish, and it can be filled with many different things. I like it with cherries and with apples.” W