The Civil Solidarity Prize of the
\nEuropean Economic and Social Committee was unveiled on 15th February
\nin a virtual ceremony. The Romanian Association of Premature Babies was one of
\nthe 23 EU and UK recipients of the prize for their exceptional contribution to
\nfighting Covid-19 and its disastrous consequences. Each winner received a prize
\nof 10,000 euros. <\/p>\n
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The project submitted by the Association
\nof Premature Babies in Romania formed part of a category related to the
\nproduction and distribution of medical equipment, which included projects on
\nthe production and distribution of facemasks and hygiene products, the
\ntransformation of buildings into hospitals, the building of new medical structures
\nand the purchase and donation of medicine and technical equipment. <\/p>\n
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Diana G\u0103mulescu, the founder of the
\nAssociation of Premature Babies, explains: <\/p>\n
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It all started with a need that had
\nto be addressed, namely, at the beginning of the pandemic, many medical workers
\nwere telling us that premature babies were having less access to hospital
\nservices due to the Covid restrictions and that funding for neo-natal wards
\nwere suspended or cut and used to turn maternity hospitals into Covid support
\nhospitals. So the organisation mobilised itself and the community, with the aim
\nof helping as many maternity hospitals as possible. We didn’t know at the time how
\nmuch we would be able to raise from donations or whether we would be able to
\nreach all the maternity hospitals in need of protection equipment, UV lamps and
\nhygiene products. There were maternity hospitals where you couldn’t even find soap,
\nbut we took it one step at a time and by the end of September we managed to
\nraise the necessary funds and make donations to six maternity hospitals.<\/p>\n
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Diana G\u0103mulescu told us more about
\nthe work of the Association of Premature Babies before the pandemic:<\/p>\n
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The equipping of maternity
\nhospitals in general is a priority, because there are 22 such hospitals with special
\nneonatology wards and 64 general maternity hospitals around the country and
\neach and every one of them needs something at all times. Apart from raising
\nmoney, we also carried out projects aimed at the medical staff, such as continuous
\nlearning, we held workshops in hospitals and helped prepare families with
\nnew-born babies for the moment when they take their babies home, we ran
\nwebinars and projects to prevent premature births and travelled around the
\ncountry to less privileged communities. We also provide financial support to
\ndisadvantaged families with premature babies who need long-term care. So, we’ve
\ngot a lot to do!<\/p>\n
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The European Economic and Social
\nCommittee launched its civil solidarity contest in July 2020 on the theme of civil
\nsociety against Covid-19 as a one-off event to replace its traditional prize. Its
\naim was to pay a tribute to civil society in Europe, which became actively and
\nselflessly involved in solidarity projects from the very early days of the
\npandemic. Other Romanian projects that ran for the EESC prize include a social
\nsolidarity project ran by the Adi H\u0103dean Association. A chef who saw his
\nrestaurant closed because of the pandemic, H\u0103dean made sure his staff together with
\nvolunteers prepared and distributed warm meals to doctors, other medical
\nworkers, families in isolation and the elderly. Diana G\u0103mulescu from the
\nAssociation of Premature Babies in Romania told us how her association decided
\nto run for the civil solidarity prize:<\/p>\n
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When we found out about the contest
\nwe realised it would be a solution for us to be able to continue the donation
\nraising campaign we began. We saw it as an opportunity in this respect, but we didn’t
\nthink we would win. One of the most important things when you’re trying to do good
\nis finding solutions to ensure funding. It’s complicated to find businesses and
\nconvince people to make donations and for us the contest was simply a chance to
\ncontinue our work.<\/p>\n
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Winning was a big surprise and Diana
\nG\u0103mulescu is still overwhelmed:<\/p>\n
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I still can’t believe that miracles
\nhappen, that there’s a Santa Claus in February. I’d like the prize to help raise
\nawareness about premature births in general. I’d like to thank our supporters,
\nindividuals and businesses, and my team for their involvement and dedication. I
\nwould like it very much to be able to increase the impact of charitable actions
\nnationwide.<\/p>\n
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In the near future, the Association
\nof Premature Babies will continue to raise money to provide maternity hospitals
\nwith the needed equipment, hoping to reach as many hospitals as possible, and to
\ncarry out information and support programmes for parents. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Romanian NGO wins European Economic and Social Committee Civil Solidarity Prize.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":126,"featured_media":136547,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42520],"tags":[35750,39073],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-136546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inside-romania","tag-charity","tag-ngo"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n