Bucharest, April 21st, 2021 – The construction of the third Ronald McDonald House destined for parents and carers of children undergoing hospital treatment will be starting in the following months in Iași, after the Ronald McDonald Foundation for Children obtained the building permit this month. This third Ronald McDonald House in Romania will serve families from across the whole Moldova region which bring their children to treatment at the Sf. Maria Children’s Clinical Emergency Hospital in Iași. The Vodafone Romania Foundation supports the building and the activity of the Ronald McDonald House in Iași, as founding member, with a budget of RON 876,600, the total cost of the project being RON 9,000,000. The construction works are scheduled to be finished in December this year.
The Ronald McDonald House Iași will be built on the premises of the Sf. Maria Children’s Clinical Emergency Hospital and will have 19 rooms, each with its own bathroom and common areas: living room, dining room, kitchen, laundry room, playground for children. The project will become the home away from home for 1,000 people, parents and relatives of children from across the whole Moldova region who are require long-term stays in the hospital every year.
‘For years, the problem with accommodation spaces for parents and relatives of children admitted in hospitals away from their place of residence has been ignored. This situation prompted the civil society to find solutions. We are glad to be joining the initiative of Ronald McDonald Foundation to build the House in Iași, an action which can bring normalcy and support for the beleaguered families of the children hospitalised at the Sf. Maria Hospital’, declared Angela Galeța, Manager of Vodafone Romania Foundation.
‘The health and well-being of children is central to our mission, these children being at the most vulnerable time in their life. The mission of the Foundation continues in 2021 with the building of the House in Iași so that all children in the Moldova region may have increased access to quality medical services, while at the same time having their families close throughout their hospitalisation. We thank the Vodafone Romania Foundation for being greatly involved alongside us. We are happy to be able to build a project with major long-term impact for the local and regional community. I am certain that this partnership will be a benchmark for the involvement and solidarity of the community and that, together, we will lay the groundwork for a sustainable support network for children who are hospitalised long-term’, declared Amalia Năstase, President of the Ronald McDonald Foundation for Children.
Every year, around 50,000 children from all across the Moldova region come to Sf. Maria Children’s Clinical Emergency Hospital in Iași (source), and from other counties also. The Ronald McDonald House in Iași will be the place where the families of sick children who need long-term hospitalisation will be able to live for free, socialise, receive hot meals, first necessity packages, support and counselling, throughout their children’s stay in the hospital. Inside the House, parents will be able to rest, cook for the children, benefit from a support system comprising of both other parents, as well as the House staff and volunteers. Close to the hospital, and with zero costs for housing, transportation or meals, the families will be able to channel their energy and resources exclusively towards the care of the young patients.
The Vodafone Romania Foundation is a Romanian nongovernmental charitable organisation, established in 1998, which operates separately and independently from the company’s business. In over 20 years of activity, Vodafone Romania Foundation has funded 1,168 programs conducted by 745 non-governmental organizations across the country, in the health, education, social services industry. The projects had over 3 million beneficiaries – children, young people, elderly, physically, socially or economically disadvantaged people. So far, Vodafone Romania Foundation invested EUR 31 million in projects conducted by partner non-profit organizations. More details about the foundation’s programs are available at www.fundatia-vodafone.ro, http://jurnaldebine.fundatiavodafone.ro/ and www.facebook.com/fundatiavodafone.
The Ronald McDonald Foundation for Children has been active in Romania for 23 years and is the main supporter of the two Houses in Bucharest and Timișoara, also supporting different initiatives which help sick children and their families. The Ronald McDonald Houses help parents whose children are hospitalised for long-term treatments. For the duration of their children’s hospitalisation, parents do not pay for accommodation. More details about the foundation’s projects are available at www.rmhc.ro and www.facebook.com/rmhcro.
