President's Foreword - From 2022 Annual Report

In 2021, the Cuomo Foundation celebrated its 20th anniversary; it was founded by my late husband Alfredo Cuomo and myself in Monaco in 2001. 

In normal circumstances, the Foundation and all of our partners, who have contributed to or been supported by our actions and initiatives over the years, would have loudly celebrated this milestone. Regrettably, our commemoration of this special event was subdued and forced to take place online; distant and apart from one another. 

Nobody could have guessed that after the last two devastating years of the worldwide Covid epidemic, we would now be facing the serious possibility of a third world war in 2022.
Our personal experiences with the pandemic have varied greatly depending on our age, health and socio-economic status and location. Without a doubt, we are living in sad and catastrophic historical times. 

How can we make sense of everything that has occurred?
As I write this introduction and try to focus on our positive actions in 2021, I would also like to take this opportunity to reflect on what the Cuomo Foundation has managed to accomplish globally in its 20 years of service. 

IN INDIA 

Twenty years ago we began our humanitarian work and we started in India. We agreed to fund the building of a school for children who needed one. Since 2001, we have built 7 major school complexes with modern and separate sanitation facilities and boarding homes, all situated in Tamil Nadu. Thousands of children attend our schools built in disadvantaged rural and urban areas. Scholarships for further education have enabled 621 students, so far, to improve their prospects and futures. 

Despite the fact that schools and colleges remained closed in 2021, relief aid packages and critical financial salary assistance for teachers allowed students to continue their education via remote learning. 

IN AFRICA 

For many years we have funded social, artistic and critical medical actions and projects across the continent of Africa. From young adult learning institutions in Mali, social welfare actions creating self-sufficient communities, local online news journals, the preservation of UNESCO recognized cultural heritage site of “Royal Court of Tiébélé” in Burkina Faso, to supporting Senegalese artists’ events in historic Saint Louis and to the 
multimillion funding of the CCPC in Dakar, Senegal; the very first purpose built Paediatric Cardiology Centre to operate in the entire West Africa region. 

By early 2022, the Cuomo Cardio Paediatric Centre will have operated successfully on over 1,000 young patients - the lifesaving and lifechanging medical attention is transforming the futures of generations in Senegal and beyond. 

IN EUROPE 

In Italy, we have supported the Arts for many years with the pioneering Hobart Method dance work for the diversely-abled, the Cultural Association of Freyderyk Chopin for the International Roma Competition and more recently the National Academy of Dance with the Premio Roma Dance competition. 

In 2021, the International Roma Piano Competition celebrated its 30th anniversary and we have supported this prestigious event since 2004. 

IN MONACO 

Since 2001, we’ve partnered with the Monaco Red Cross on a number of initiatives and projects, including specifically the Monaco Red Cross Scholarship Programme. 

Over the last 20 years many charitable organisations have benefitted from our involvement including Princess Grace Dance Academy, Monaco Disease Power, Sainte Devote Challenge and No Finish Line. 

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 

In partnership with the Prince Albert II Foundation we have co-funded the IPCC scholarship since 2013. This innovative programme enables gifted international doctorial students from less developed countries to research how to create sustainable solutions for climate changes in their own regions. 

In 2021, we supported 7 new researchers for the 2021/23 IPCC Programme, we have now fully funded 23 scholarships since 2013. 

These are just a few highlights of the work we’ve been doing since 2001. Other actions and collaborations have involved Cuba, Brazil, Cambodia, Vietnam and Haiti. 

As I look back on our achievements and accept the disappointments over the last 20 years, I see the difficulties facing the universe ahead, and I am confronted again with life’s most persistent question - why do we do this? 

“Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.”
– Mahatma Gandhi, lawyer and civil rights leader 

“Since the world has existed, there has been injustice. But it is one world, the more so as it becomes smaller, more accessible. There is just no question that there is more obligation that those who have should give to those who have nothing.” 

–Audrey Hepburn, actress and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador 

And finally I am reminded of my dearly departed husband Alfredo Cuomo, who often found inspiration in these words: 

“There is only one religion, the religion of Love;
There is only one language, the language of the Heart; There is only one caste, the caste of Humanity.”
–Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Indian guru 

The Cuomo Foundation remains a small private organisation but our goals and outlook are ambitious. As the world changes at a rapid pace, we aspire to evolve as well. 

In conclusion, I will reiterate what I said last year because my feelings, and the Cuomo Foundation’s beliefs, have not changed in twenty years. We remain committed and engaged in our core actions to help those in need of a helping hand develop sustainable futures. 

Maria Elena Cuomo 

President, Cuomo Foundation Monaco - May 2022