This is the 1322nd most frequent Russian word.
странам
The word "странам" is the dative plural form of "страна," meaning "to countries" or "for countries" in English.
In this sentence, 'странам' is used in the dative case, showing the directionality or the 'to' aspect related to countries in Europe.
Я путешествовал по многим странам Европы.
I have traveled to many countries in Europe.
Here, 'странам' is in the dative case again, but it shows the recipients of 'various projects'.
Странам, участвующим в конференции, были предложены разные проекты.
The countries participating in the conference were offered various projects.
In this sentence, 'странам' shows the indirect object of the verb 'помогаем', designating the entities receiving help.