Billionaire investor George Soros and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim visited the Roma community in Frumușani, near Bucharest, on Friday (May 10). The two giants of international finance spoke to members of the community about the difficulties they face in improving their standard of living and accessing education.

The Center for Education and Social Development and the Roma Education Fund Foundation invited Soros and Kim to visit the area and the heads of the two organizations also discussed in detail ways to improve access to education for Roma communities. Mentoring for students, after school programs and scholarship support were among the ideas raised to help children from Roma communities gain higher levels of education. George Soros and Jim Yong Kim also visited a school in the area to see some of the organizations' projects in action and talked to children about their experiences of the programs.

The Center for Education and Social Development has implemented 12 projects that together have provided direct support for over 2,000 members of the Roma community in Southern Romania. The organization receives some support from the Soros Foundation, a charity set up by billionaire George Soros.

Jim Yong Kim made his first visit to Romania as president of the World Bank last week. Meeting the Roma community formed part of his schedule of talks with politicians, business leaders and community representatives in Romania.

editor@romania-insider.com