French funding of 3,000 euros each for 14 Romanian NGOs to acknowledge support during COVID-19 pandemic

The French Embassy and the French Institute have presented 3,000 euros in grants to 14 Romanian NGOs "to recognise and support the efforts of the Romanian civil society who has succored vulnerable people in need during the COVID-19 lockdown and throughout the entire pandemic."

The recipients are: Institute for Social Partnership Bucovina - Suceava; Carousel Association - Bucharest; Casa Valentina Association - Bucharest; Cluj Community Foundation - Cluj-Napoca County, Timisoara Community Foundation - Timis County; Hecuba Foundation - Iasi; Un Coup de Main d'Emmaus Foundation - Iasi; FDP Association - Protagonists in Education - Dambovita County; Federation of Non-Governmental Organisations for Social Services (FONSS) - Iasi and the Nord-Est region; Impreuna Community Development Agency (Cristesti) and Mascateni (Albesti) - Botosani County; Parada Foundation - Bucharest; HOSPICE Foundation - Casa Sperantei - Brasov; SOS Children's Villages Association / Workshops without Borders Association - Bacau; STEA Association - Satu Mare.

The funding granted to each entity - 3,000 euros to each - is designed to support a continued distribution of food or healthcare products, access to income rights of people without income and access to healthcare, and also to prevent school dropout.

"All over the world, the Coronavirus pandemic has highlighted inequalities and sometimes even deepened existing gaps, putting the most vulnerable at risk of poverty. In Romania, providing basic necessities has been difficult during the lockdown for many families that have lost their daily income. Homeless people, children living in poverty, isolated old people, daily workers have all had to rely on solidarity to survive. Female victims of violence, sometimes isolated in their homes with their attacker have also encountered considerable difficulties and their right to safety was not respected," the French Institute says in a press statement.

It shows that these fourteen associations, which have established, over time, a relationship of trust with the French Embassy and the French Institute in Romania, provide social services to children and young people, the elderly, people with disabilities, homeless people in big cities, families in marginalised communities, single mothers, drug addicts, all vulnerable groups deeply affected by the pandemic.

By providing this financial support to organisations from different regions of Romania, the French Embassy and the French Institute "reaffirm the importance of solidarity in Franco-Romanian co-operation and the major mission of the civil society in providing social services in the most disadvantaged areas of the country."