FRENCH shipping giant CMA CGM has an announced the winners of its "call for proposals" to help 3,200 child victims of trauma and illness who will benefit in 2017 from CMA CGM Corporate Foundation funded projects.
This year's winners are 13 French and Lebanese charities with plans to improve the living conditions, well-being and development of children victims of trauma and illness.
The foundation finances surgeries for children born with heart malformations, provides equipment for a respiratory care room, facilitates a social initiation programme for the arts for Syrian refugee children among other projects.
Among this year's winners are Tout le Monde Contre le Cancer, to support its operation "Toques en Truck", a stopover at the Aix hospital for culinary activities in the company of famous chefs for children with cancer and their families.
Another winner is PREMA (Protection, Resilience, Education, Mediation, Art-therapie) to buy of a nine-seater vehicle for school, outings, meetings with social workers, placement hearings, parent/child meetings, children victims of severe ill-treatment housed by the association.
Also awarded were SOS Villages d'Enfants for the creation of a Family House for parent-child meetings located in the SOS village of Marseille, where siblings are placed on a long-term basis by court order.
In Lebanon, CHANCE (Children Against Cancer) to fund the treatment of newborn babies, children and young Lebanese as well as (since 2011) Syrian and Iraqi refugees who suffer from cancer (blood diseases, lymphomas, leukaemia) at Hotel Dieu de France.
Since 2005, the CMA CGM Corporate Foundation has supported nearly 200 social and humanitarian projects to provide concrete assistance to children living through hardship.
"We received many applications and the selection was difficult," said foundation president Naila Saade.
"The 13 associations we have chosen have distinguished themselves by their innovative side and their desire to improve the daily life of children victims of trauma or illness," she said.