“FDP-Protagonists in Education” is undertaking the “IMPACT Ludesti” project from January 2022, until December 2024, financed through the SEE Grants, through the Local development, poverty reduction and increasing the inclusion of Roma people program, implemented by the Romanian Social Development Fund – FRDS, as program operator.

The project is implement by FDP-Protagonists in Education in partnership with the Ludesti Town Hall in Dambovita county and in collaboration with three schools from the area.

The main goal of the project is to improve the social inclusion of Roma people in the Ludesti village, Dambovita county, through integrated educational, health and employment services, empowerment, as well as support for better living conditions. Special attention is being paid to Roma children and teenagers, particularly girls. The project aims to build a strong local partnership between teachers, parents, students, public institutions and the community.

The activities that form the project are built on the previous experience of the two partners in Roma community interventions, as well as the active presence in the community.

200 elementary school and middle school-aged children will take part in non-formal educational activities and those focused on catching up in school, while 120 teenagers will benefit from professional counseling services and will take part in courses that will qualify them to work in the jobs offered by employers in the area. Furthermore, the project also offers healthcare educational services for 350 children and teenagers, as well as empowerment and capability building programs for 25 Roma teenagers and 15 Roma experts in the community.

The project is financed through a grant worth €433,388, offered by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the SEE Grants as part of the Local Development Program. The aim of the project is to increase the access of Roma people from Ludesti, Dambovita county to educational, qualification, social and health services.

About the Romanian Social Development Fund

The Romanian Social Development Fund is a public interest body founded by the Romanian Government through the no. 129.1998 Law which contributed to administering a grant scheme and non-reimbursable international financed programs targeted at poor and isolated communities, mainly from rural areas and took part in the effective implementation of national, regional and local interest projects.

The main fields that the FRDS targets are: social inclusion (with a focus on Roma communities), socio-economic development, equal opportunities, overcoming poverty, community development, education.

Between 2013 and 2017, FRDS was in charge of the RO10 Program Children and youth in risk situations and local and regional initiatives to reduce national inequality and to promote social inclusion, financed through the SEE Grants 2009-2014.

Starting in 2018, FRDS is the Program Operator for The local development, poverty reduction and increasing Roma inclusion program financed through the SEE and Norwegian Grants 2014-2021.

For more information about FRDS’s activity, SEE and Norwegian Grants and the National Contact Point, please access: www.frds.ro, www.eeagrants.org, www.eeagrants.ro