The Charity Fund of Rietumu Bank has opened 21 special deposit accounts for the children who lost their parents in the Zolitude tragedy. The money allocated by the Fund and the accumulated interest are intended for receiving education and support during the start of their own adult life.
As informed earlier, at the joint meeting of senior executives of the Charity Fund of Rietumu Bank and the Peter Aven Charity Fund “Generation” in January, a decision was taken to provide support to those children who lost one or both parents in the Zolitude tragedy, which occurred in mid-November. Among other things, it was decided to open a deposit account named Oxford (a special type of deposit account at Rietumu Bank for cash accumulation for educational purposes when the holder reaches majority age) for each of the orphans.
In total, 25 such deposit accounts will be opened, each in the amount of EUR 6 thousand. The deposit interest rate in the mid-term will be within the range of 3.75% to 6% p.a., securing an increase of about 25% from the initial amount in five years and 50% – within 10 years. The term and rate of the deposit will depend on the child’s age.
“When drawing up the list of children who will have the deposit accounts opened, we adhered to the most encompassing approach possible. Every case was considered from a purely human point of view, and not from the position of formalities and bureaucracy. For instance, there are cases when a child is not officially adopted, or other nuances that would not allow to provide the required help if a bureaucratic approach were taken. It was important for us that all children and teenagers who lost their parents receive the support,” emphasised the Chairperson of the Board of the Rietumu Bank Charity Fund Inga Sina.
The Charity Fund of Rietumu Bank rendered financial assistance in the amount of USD 50 thousand to persons injured in the collapse of the shopping centre and their families immediately after the Zolitude tragedy. The bank also appealed to its clients and partners with an offer to take part in rendering assistance to victims of the tragedy and organised the collection of funds for them.
A decision was taken to use the funds allocated by the Charity Fund of Rietumu Bank, as well as donations coming to the Fund from the bank’s clients and partners or other private individuals, for two main goals – direct support of the injured persons and their families and also for rendering assistance to officers of the fire and rescue service.
At the same time, jointly with the Peter Aven Charity Fund “Generation”, a decision was taken to open a special deposit account for each such child in order to secure support at the first stages of adult life, when receiving an education and entering a profession. The practical part of this programme involved the fulfilment of certain formalities and compulsory procedures, especially with regard to smaller children. In some cases, bank employees went to the affected families in order to secure the presence of guardians and other persons, as required according to the law when opening a bank deposit for an underage child. At this time, all the formalities have been settled with regard to 21 children. Accounts for the other four persons will be opened shortly: these children are currently in other countries, including Armenia and the USA, therefore opening accounts for them with observation of the legal formalities takes more time.
Eleonora Gailisha Mass Media and Public Relations
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