Why Romania?

Over 34 percent of Romanian people are at risk of poverty or social exclusion, the highest across Europe (Eurostat comparison of EU countries). An urban-rural divide is one factor for this, where poverty is highly concentrated in rural areas with national at-risk-of-poverty rates are nearly six times higher than in cities (World Bank report).

Public services are often inadequate for those living rurally. As of 2020, Romania was the only EU country without universal access to piped water with just 39 percent of the rural population connected to a water supply. Romanian regions remain poorly interconnected with a transport infrastructure competitiveness index far below EU averages. Romania also remains high risk for hazards and natural disasters like earthquakes and flooding where it’s listed as top three most at risk across Europe. 

The people who suffer most are the poor, sick and the elderly. For many of these people the only aid and services available are the ones we help provide. Find out more about the projects we’re helping to fund.