Save the Children Romania is opening a day-care facility for Ukraine's refugee children at a building of the Golescu Grant Service Complex working under the authority of the General Social Assistance and Child Protection Directorate (DGASPC) District 6, where the little ones will get homework help, hot meals, Romanian language courses and recreational activities.

The project is also designed to facilitate the integration of the mothers of these children with the labour market.

"The facility will have several objectives: to help children with homework, to teach them Romanian, to organise recreational activities, to introduce Ukrainian children to Romanian children, because we thought it would be good, besides the support offered to those in Ukraine, to offer support to children and mothers in Romania, who are (...) in a situation of vulnerability. Daily meal for children, transport to and from school and many outdoor activities. We want all children to enjoy their childhood and support as long as they stay in Romania. (...) We will also work with parents, we will get them involved in all kinds of activities," Save the Children Executive Chair Gabriela Alexandrescu told a news conference on Wednesday.

According to her, 40 children aged between 6 and 11 years will use the facility, from Monday to Friday, between 08:00hrs and 18:00hrs, and the organisation will cover the nursery and kindergarten fees for 60 other children aged between 2 and 5 years.

Alexandrescu said that this initiative is carried out in partnership with the Travel Project Association, which supports and facilitates the employment of mothers, while their children get the activities at the day-care facility.

Among the participants in the event were Bucharest District 6 Mayor Ciprian Ciucu, and the representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Romania, Pablo Zapata.

Three in five Ukrainian parents who have taken refuge in Romania do not have a job, given that only 17% are employed on a contract in Romania, 11% work remotely for a company outside Romania and 7% are employed without an employment contract, according to a survey conducted by Save the Children Romania in February.

From the beginning of the war in Ukraine until February 29, 21,617 Ukrainian citizens were registered in the official employment records, including 14,727 women. Of these, 2,784 entered the labour market, including 1,890 women.

The lack of communication skills in Romanian is the cause most refugees from Ukraine declare as an impediment to their employment (65%), followed by the need to care for a family member (54%), shows the organisation's survey. AGERPRES (RO - author: Iulia Carciog, editor: Claudia Stanescu; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Cristina Zaharia)