Galați and Brăila Counties, Romania, September 4, 2025
Archdiocese of the Lower Danube
Local Churches, dioceses, and parishes throughout the Orthodox world run humanitarian projects every year to support underprivileged children as they begin the new school year. Among these initiatives is a significant program in Romania’s Archdiocese of the Lower Danube.
With the blessing of His Eminence Archbishop Casian, and following a longstanding tradition in the Archdiocese, a social-philanthropic campaign is underway at the beginning of the school year aimed at children with limited material resources in Galați and Brăila counties, the diocese reports.
The diocesan center, along with eight deaneries and parishes, are currently running the Christ in School program, directed primarily toward children from disadvantaged and socially marginalized families.
Through this social-philanthropic program, 3,300 children are being supported this year. The total value of the aid amounts to approximately $82,500 (330,000 lei), with funding provided by the diocesan center at 60%, the eight deaneries at 10%, and parishes at 30%.
Specifically, in this period preceding the start of the new 2025-2026 school year, 3,300 backpacks fully equipped with school supplies (notebooks, pencil cases, pens, pencils, crayons, markers, and rulers) have been purchased and are being delivered to deaneries and parishes to be given to children in the two counties of the diocese, Galați and Brăila.
On September 2, the Galați Deanery delivered 543 backpacks filled with school supplies to its subordinate parishes to be given to needy children. Throughout the morning, priests from this deanery collected the equipped backpacks from the local headquarters to offer them to beneficiary children within their parish churches.
The assistance provided to students each year by the Archdiocese of the Lower Danube is of real benefit to families with multiple children and precarious material situations, as they are thus able to integrate into normal life having what is necessary for a new and good beginning of the school year.
uoc-news.church
Similar projects have been reported in Ukraine, with backpacks being distributed by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine, and in Moldova. In Burundi, 800 notebooks were distributed to children.
Follow OrthoChristian on Twitter, Vkontakte, Telegram, WhatsApp, MeWe, and Gab!
