How you build alongside a community: education and green energy in Vaslui
UiPath Foundation has been working alongside children and families in rural communities in Vaslui County for seven years. PPC Renewables joined this effort in 2024 as a partner by supporting the Future Acceleration Program. Together, in 2025 they supported 22 middle school students from Bogdănești and Zorleni through educational activities, emotional support, and the involvement of families, schools, and local authorities.
The Future Acceleration Program is implemented by UiPath Foundation together with the “Bună Ziua, Copii din România” Association (BZRO), a local partner, and supports middle school students through tutoring, psychological counseling, scholarships, and activities that involve the family and the school. The intervention is built gradually, starting from the needs identified in each community.
The partnership with PPC Renewables was established in 2024 and consolidated the already existing program in Bogdănești, expanding it to Zorleni. The shared objective is to raise educational attainment, prevent and reduce school dropout, and support the emotional development of the 22 students, with the involvement of the school, local NGOs, and local authorities. The partnership aims to create shared value through interventions planned in accordance with the needs identified at the community level.
For us, being a good neighbor means understanding the realities of people and especially of the children growing up in the communities near our projects. In Vaslui county, where many families face economic hardship and limited access to educational opportunities, investments in renewable energy go hand in hand with investments in their future. Together with UiPath Foundation, we support programs that open doors for children and help them build their own path, regardless of the context they come from. The most valuable impact is not the one we measure in megawatts, but in confidence, in hope, and in the feeling that our presence here truly matters,
What the program offers
Children participate weekly in online tutoring sessions in mathematics and English, receive a monthly scholarship, and benefit from preventive medical support, as well as psychological counseling when needed. Every summer, they spend five days at a mountain camp, where they learn through a balanced mix of formal and non-formal activities: from financial education and digital skills to interactive sessions on managing emotions. And, equally important, they have time to play and make friends with children their age from across the country.
Parents meet periodically in support groups, and the school and local administration are active partners, providing spaces for activities and additional school guidance. An essential role is played by the local coordinator — in this case, Alina Ciortescu from BZRO — who connects all the actors involved and ensures the coherence of the intervention at the community level.
This is an intervention built step by step together with the child, the family, the school, and the entire local community.
“In the community, an obstacle appears at the end of 8th grade, when children have to choose their path forward,”says Elizabet Ciobanu, principal of the program’s partner school. An obstacle that almost inevitably translates into dropout or migration from the community, either to the big cities in the country or abroad.
What the children in the program wish for their future
Paula* is 14 years old and has been part of the program for four years. Passionate about mathematics, she wants to get into the best high school in Bârlad and is preparing for admission to “Gheorghe Roșca Codreanu” National College. During breaks and after classes, she helps her classmates understand how to solve math problems.
“Paula’s* evolution has been fantastic; gradually she managed to take a step forward, to recognize her potential, to enjoy her achievements,” says Alina Ciortescu, BZRO’s Program Director.
Dragoș*, 13, dreams of getting into the Art High School and returning one day to teach drawing to the children at his school. Ioana*, his classmate, is passionate about geography and wants to become an interior designer.
The family, alongside the program
Nela, mother of Ioana* and her twin brother, both in the Future Acceleration Program, regularly participates in the parent support group. The meetings address topics such as children’s rights and family communication. “It makes me, as a mother, alongside my children, feel important,” says Nela.
A child grows within a family, within a school, within a community, and all of these must work together. That is why, in the Future Acceleration Program, we work with the child, with their family, with the school, and with the community. In PPC Renewables we found a partner who understands that this work is done with patience and with concrete support.
A program under development
The program was implemented in 2025 in both Bogdănești and Zorleni, through interventions adapted to the specific needs of each community. The involvement of the school and local authorities remains essential for the continuity and relevance of the effort.
“I look at parents who say they have become stronger for their children. At teachers who are more motivated to work with children and respect their pace. And that, for me, is change,” says Mihaela Zanoschi, Executive President of BZRO.
In 2026, the intervention will continue in Bogdănești and Zorleni, and will expand to Bogdănița and Deleni, for another 25 children, in partnership with local actors.
*The names of the children mentioned in this material have been changed to protect their identity, in accordance with UiPath Foundation’s Child Safeguarding Policy.