It was an important move at the time. People from the villages now had employment away from their farms. Gradually, individual factories producing textiles, abrasives and electronics were also founded in Barlad, a ready supplier of available workers. But, times changed, and our once robust economy softened.

The sad legacy of the Revolution is that the transformation to a market economy has put many people out of work. It turns out that the process of modernizing the factories and training the workers is lengthy and costly. Sometimes it's best to simply close the doors. In recent years, approximately 6,000 people have been laid off at the ball bearing factory alone! Where it once provided jobs for 10,000 people, (in a city of 80,000), it now employs only 4,000. Communism changed so much in the life style of the people that consequences will be visible in the way people think, act and live for a long time.

Barlad is the birthplace of two notable people: Alexandra Ioan Cuza (the new high school were we volunteer was named after him) who took the historic step of uniting Moldova and Wallachia provinces; and Gh. Gheorghiu Dej, one of the first Communist leaders who converted the city into an industrial center.

Barlad Today

Barlad's city leaders have invested in education over the years. We have a number of kindergartens, elementary and middle schools, three high schools and a vocational school. We also provide a home to a large (98.5 percent) Orthodox population, who are well-served with 10 orthodox churches. (An 11th one will be finished soon.) We have a small community of Jewish people and a synagogue (it's more a standard building where the Jewish community gathers). You can also find both an Evangelical church and a Catholic church in our city.

Barlad has a few hospitals: The Adult Hospital, which is quite large, a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients and a Pediatric Hospital much bigger than Tutova Hospital.

Barlad occupies an area once known as the "Tutova Region" because it lies on the hills of Tutova. After Communists came into power, the country was reorganized in counties -- and the separate communities of Barlad and Tutova became part of Vaslui County. Since the Revolution (December 1989), civic leaders have been directed towards returning Barlad and Tutova to their pre-communism capability, and uniting the communities in one "Tutova Region." We yearn to make our own decisions and obtain sufficient government funding to modernize our communities, but currently, the government support still goes to Vaslui County, who first distributes it to modernize the city of Vaslui, the county seat.

Tutova Today

Tutova is just 17 km south of Barlad, 15 minutes by car. The town's population (about 3,000) is rather old, as young people chose to go to other cities bigger than Barlad after school, where they might find a job. Most families are engaged in farming. We're fortunate, because the land is very rich and productive. Each family owns some land (the land was given back to people after the 1989 Revolution) to work and make their own living that way. Our community is quiet and picturesque. For instance, behind each house you'll find a small farm (cows, pigs, hens, ducks and so forth). We grow own vegetables for our consumption, and sell some produce on the open-air market in Barlad.

Tutova's main features are Tutova Hospital, an elementary school, and one kindergarten. Once it was a rich community and so was Barlad.