European Union supports lonely elderly people, people with disabilities and families with many children to overcome the energy crisis
The crisis in the energy sector has brought more worries to lonely elderly people, people with disabilities, low-income families and other disadvantaged groups. In response to this crisis, the European Union has launched the “Supporting together the vulnerable population affected by the energy crisis” project, through which vulnerable individuals and families in all districts of the country receive a one-off financial aid of 1,000 lei. By 28 March 2022, more than 35,800 vulnerable households have already received this aid, with a total of 40,000 households expected to benefit from EU support.
The non-governmental organisation People in Need Moldova coordinates the distribution of financial aid to households selected on the basis of several vulnerability criteria: how many members are in the family, how many disabled people are in the family, how many children are in the family, whether there are single elderly people with an income below the guaranteed minimum income, whether the family uses gas (piped or bottled), but also what are the sources of income in the household. The People in Need Moldova team selected the households, which scored the highest according to these criteria, and the families and individuals are informed that they will receive financial support under the project by registered letters sent to their homes.
What can 1,000 lei provide? The money can be used to buy a third of a ton of briquettes to heat the house. That is what Iurie, a resident of the Criuleni district, who received one-off financial aid, will do. Although he has to pay a lot of money for medicine, as a disabled person, Iurie appreciates any help, big or small.
“We make fire to heat the house for 8 months a year. The heating materials are expensive, for what we can afford, to be honest. We are not given facilities to buy these materials. Any help, no matter how small, especially these 1,000 lei you have given me, is very welcome for us. It’s a big plus and I’m very grateful,” said Iurie, smiling at the thought that it will be a little easier for him now.
The project “Supporting together the vulnerable population affected by the energy crisis” also provides other forms of aid: heating materials for 6,000 households, around 20 grants for social service providers and civil society organisations to develop their capacity to provide vulnerable groups with social services. A separate grant was also offered to a media organisation to verify the fairness of the distribution of funds to the population most affected by the energy crisis.
Project activities will be completed in April 2023. Financial assistance from the European Union has been allocated through the Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI).
