Category: Romania

COVID-19 response, emergency intervention in the rural communities

By World Vision Romania

The life of children and families in the villages where World Vision Romania is active has always been tough due to difficult access to proper food, medicines, and hygiene products, amongst other factors. Now, because of the current pandemic, their situation has become even more desperate. 

World Vision Romania is there and through our intervention we aim to help 7,500 families and 14,000 children in various ways so that they can still lead a normal life, as much as possible, in the following ways:

  • Supporting digital education in every possible way and with all the resources that we have. Children must continue to study. 
  • Providing packages with food, hygiene products, school materials and activity packs, and even electronic devices, internet SIM cards and other basic products. 
  • Connecting with children and their families and monitoring their health. We provide psychological counselling to those in need, via phone or online. 

People can donate to help sustain our intervention via text message: text SPERANTA to 8864 (SPERANTA means HOPE); each message equals 4 euro or donate online at https://worldvision.ro/coronavirus. All donations help us to support vulnerable families from rural areas survive the crisis. All individuals and companies who have necessary resources for rural families (food, hygiene products, digital infrastructure) are kindly asked to contact us at: donatori@wvi.org.

Please see more details about our response below:

We provide material support:

  • Disinfectants, protection masks, gloves, chlorine, water, toilet paper, wet napkins and other hygiene products;
  • Food packages for those placed in quarantine;
  • School materials, activity packs, games for the children isolated at home;
  • Electronic devices (tablets, computers) and internet SIM cards so that even children living in remote/isolated villages can have access to digital education during the coronavirus pandemic.

We provide digital home schooling:

  • We have identified solutions for distance communication with children via phone, apps, online platforms, e-learning and videoconferencing;
  • More than 5770 children can attend online courses via the “The School in a Box” e-learning platform;
  • 12th grade students from “I want in the 9th grade”  take part in remedial activities online. Hundreds of other high school students attend online personal development workshops. Students without access to internet or digital devices keep in touch with teachers via phone.

We provide counselling and monitor health conditions:

  • All our psychotherapists, psychologists, social and educational assistants provide phone or video psychological counselling;
  • Nurses keep in touch with the families on a daily basis to monitor their health condition; 
  • We provide information about essential preventive behaviour so they can stay safe and sane. 

Let’s Make Romania and Europe Sustainable for All

By Loredana Giuglea, World Vision Romania

World Vision Romania and the Romanian NGDO Platform organised a National Seminar to celebrate the 3rd anniversary of the adoption of Agenda 2030.

The Photovoice Album of children from World Vision Romania Consultative Councils was launched on this occasion. The Photovoice includes photos which portray children’s perspective on the 17 SDGs, and their messages for other children, communities, local, regional and national authorities, so that Agenda 2030 becomes a reality. There were more than 30 participants, including from the Environment Ministry, the Department for Sustainable Development and various local and national level NGOs.

Other various public events were developed in September by the 3 associations which received sub-grants through the Make Europe Sustainable for All project.

The Youth Equality Promotion Association – ADAPTO, organized „MobiQuest 2018” – a treasure hunt for wheelchair and non-wheelchair users to advocate for equality of chances for persons with disabilities.

The local community in Siminoc village, Constanta County was mobilized to act to improve the environment for their children, for a safe and violence-free school and for increased participation of children and young people to reduce social inequalities.

Youth from the Youth Vision Association promoted the Sustainable Development Objectives through workshops and awareness campaigns and analyzed each SDG in the Romanian context.

World Vision Romania is a child-focussed overseas aid agency. Active in Romania since 1990 and part of World Vision International, it is the largest privately funded NGO in the world. World Vision provides short and long-term assistance to 100 million people worldwide and has over 40,000 staff members working in 100 countries. For six decades, World Vision has been engaging people to work towards eliminating global poverty and its causes and most importantly engaging people to serve and to attend the needs of the children of the world. We believe every child has the right to a safe environment, access to clean water and food, healthcare and education to build a brighter future. Committed to the most vulnerable, World Vision work with people of all cultures, faiths, ages and genders to achieve transformation. They do this through three main pillars: Relief and Development, policy advocacy and change, and partnerships with a variety of actors.