EESC Civil Society Prize 2022: Romanian NGO supporting Ukrainians fleeing the war, among winners

The EESC announced the six winners of the 13th edition of the Civil Society Prize, and the Romanian non-profit Sus Inima Association is on the list. The local NGO was selected in the “European civil society for Ukraine” category, which rewards initiatives aimed at helping civilians suffering as a result of the war in Ukraine.

The six finalists were selected from 106 candidates from 21 Member States, namely 60 for category 1 (Empowering Young People) and 46 for category 2 (European civil society for Ukraine). An evaluation panel composed of ten experts chose three winners for each category.

The Romanian Sus InimaAssociation was selected “for pivoting from its usual work and developing many initiatives to help the Ukrainians (ranging from school activities and finding a job to getting therapy and psychological support) and enable them to smoothly integrate into Romanian society,” the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) said.

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, the Sus Inima Association has helped more than 50,000 Ukrainian refugees, according to a press release. Starting from its usual activity of providing support to cancer patients, Sus Inima quickly reoriented and developed numerous other initiatives to help Ukrainians and, in particular, to protect vulnerable groups: women, children, the elderly and patients with chronic conditions. Initiatives ranged from school activities and finding a job to getting treatments and psychological support.

“This support allowed Ukrainian families to better manage loss and suffering and integrate smoothly into Romanian society because it gave them a sense of belonging and safety – both physical and mental,” reads the press release.

The other two winners of the “European civil society for Ukraine” category are Villavecchia Foundation from Spain and Polish Scouting and Guiding Association - ZHP from Poland.

Meet the 2022 #CivilSocietyPrize Winners! 🏆 #EUCivilSociety for Ukraine Prize: 🇷🇴 Asociația SUS INIMA 🇪🇸 Fundació Enriqueta Villavecchia 🇵🇱 @ZHPpl - Polish Scouting and Guiding Association Know more: https://t.co/x1Gire483L