156 The H. Stepic CEE Charity has been philanthropically active under the patronage of RBI AG in the core CEE countries of the RBI Group for ten years and is current one of the three pillars of the company’s corporate volunteering program in Austria. Altogether, about 70 projects have been implemented or initiated in 15 countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) since its founding. In 2016, eight new projects were started, including one in Poland for the first time. The total volume of project investments in 2016 was about € 505,000. Employees volunteer to work closely with local colleagues from the network banks to guarantee the success of the initiatives. The charity supports people who are economically disadvantaged, especially children, young people and women, to become independent through a large number of emergency aid and especially educational programs. Empowerment through education The charity focused particularly on the topic of the advancement of girls and women in 2016. As part of this effort, a personal meeting was held with the president of the UN Women National Committee Austria, Lilly Sucharipa, at the beginning of the year. Together, it was discussed how the charity could better contribute to the advancement of girls and women through its projects and activities. International Women’s Day, which was celebrated for the first time with CEE colleagues on 8 March, was an incentive for this focus. It symbolized everything that women have achieved over the generations and still want to achieve. The charity supports girls and women by expanding existing projects and initiating ones. As part of International Women’s Day, representatives of Raiffeisen BANK dd Bosna i Hercegovina visited the single mothers who are living in the H. Stepic CEE Charity Ilijaš House near Sarajevo, all of whom are the victims of domestic violence. The house comprises six living units which were built with funding from the H. Stepic CEE Charity in 2008. In addition to providing financial support, the employees of Raiffeisen BANK dd Bosna i Hercegovina volunteer to help at the Ilijaš House on a regular basis. © Thomas Meyer Lilly Sucharipa, Vice-President, UN Women National Committee Austria “In the principle of ‘helping people to help themselves’, the objectives of the H. Stepic CEE Charity are the same as those of UN Women. Strengthening women and girls, who are often the weakest members of society, is the main task of UN Women. And women who are fleeing are especially in need of help. The UN Women National Committee Austria supports the UN Women program for Syrian women and girls in the Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan. This program not only offers protection and humanitarian help but also links this with educational programs and efforts to strengthen women in business, political and societal areas. The ‘Cash for work’ program offers women the possibility to work for low wages. For many of these women, paid work and having a voice in the community is something new. The UN Women program gives them a position, reinforces their confidence and teaches them the needed basics to be able to lead a self-determined life both in the camp as well as later upon their return to their home country. Sustainability is the most essential aspect of these programs. We share this goal with H. Stepic CEE Charity and Raiffeisen Bank International. We are pleased to have found a strong partner for our cause in RBI.” QUOTE
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