The priest had money sent immediately, and the boy had the operation that week. Angela proudly shows photosof her son with Father Lodeserto that were taken in Moldova during one of his monthly trips there to visit the women's families. "When you talk to families in homes without electricity and water, you begin to look at the girl differently," he says. "Moldova is a country of great illusions. You se 20 people inside McDonald's, and 50 outside, begging or selling popcorn. A well-known newspaper advertises waitressing jobs, and even prostitution in Italy for as much as $800 weekly."
Several New Wings participants have returned home to work at satellite projects in Moldova and Ukraine, where they staff information and assistance centers, and work on projects for building wells and roads. These will merge into a New Wings economic-development project, inaugurated this month in Moldova, to stimulate employment and pave the way toward eventual entry into EU. Several Italian textile, agricultural and industrial businesses have already signed on to invest, and Father Lodeserto hopes for funding from EU.
"In combating trafficking, Itis not enough to take the girl from the street without confronting the underlying problems that contribute to this emigration, he says. "We need to create incentives from them to not leave in the first place."