serbs for serbs report january 2015

Monthly Report for January www.serbsforserbs.org 2015

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2015

Monthly Report for January

www.serbsforserbs.org

Monthly Report No. 1 January, 2015

Charity organization Serbs for Serbs www.serbsforserbs.org

PO Box 34206, Chicago, IL 60634 Phone: +1-312-85-SERBS

Website: www.serbsforserbs.org E-Mail: [email protected]




Dear friends and donors, Charity organization Serbs for Serbs registered in the state of Illinois in United States in Jun 2010 by the group of the Serbian youth. Charity organization Serbs for Serbs is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charitable organization. Donation is tax-deductible to the extent followed by the law. On 30th September, 2011 we finally got the letter from department of the treasury (IRS) with tax exempt 501(c)3 approval. All donations to our organization donated from June 16, 2010 are tax deductible under section 170 of the Code. We are also qualified to receive tax deductible bequests, devises, transfers of gifts under section 2055, 2106 or 2522 of the Code.

About Us

The mission of Charity organization Serbs for Serbs is to affect on consciousness of Americans, Serbs and their friends through planned projects, social and humanitarian activities in order to develop and foster better society for future generations and provide aid for underprivileged families in need. Although there are many humanitarian organizations and associations, help often doesn't reach the most jeopardized. Due to unnecessary administration, missing information and slow decision making, the delivery of aid arrives too late to the final consumers, or not at all. It is a sad and embarrassing, but true fact that more than 18.000 children daily die around the world because of starvation and malnutrition. There, among us, the blind and deaf. We are witnesses of the bad demographic situation of our nation, decreasing natality, increasing number of singles, abortions, accelerated aging of

the population and generally bad economic condition of the households in Serbia, Republic of Srpska and other countries in the Balkan. An average couple has "fallen" on one child. Analysts warn that Serbs will become a minority in its own country in the following century if the nation, individuals and government don't wake up from the nescient in which they've fallen! On the other hand, nobody is talking about the families with many children which grieve by living in bitter poverty. Occupied by their everyday struggle for survival, they are being humbly in their desire for implementing rights which belong to them. Their life stories, fears and problems are identical, but almost invisible and unheard in order to gain the attention of the public, media and even state. That's why the idea of the Charity organization Serbs for Serbs arose. The organization was formed by a group of young and trustful people, who are united by the common vision of helping families blessed by many children and who are aware of the fact that even a small help means a lot for those who don't live in a material excess. We are united by the humane idea to help the poorest part of the Serbian nation. Charity organization Serbs for Serbs try to revive the spiritless energy of the Serbian Diaspora which would be able to reinforce people of Serbian heritage as well as all good people throughout the world with minimal, but constant monthly donations. We hope and believe that there is also a grain of doing good and that you will join us in the endless struggle against poverty. God bless and save all Serbian families with many children and our honored donors who participate in the noble effort to return smile on children faces.

CHILDREN ARE OUR FUTURE!

www.serbsforserbs.org




Ambitions

Our mission The mission of Charity organization Serbs for Serbs is to affect on consciousness of Serbian people through our projects and humanitarian activities, in order to develop better society for future generations.

Why Serbs for Serbs? We wanted to alleviate impaired spirit of Serbian people in togetherness and brotherhood help through humanitarian work and social aid.

Who do we help? We help Serbian families who live in the Balkans, have five or more children and live in terrible poverty. Under terrible poverty we define absence of one or more basic factors required for living: food, clothes, shoes, and safe space for living.

Why do we help? We believe that there is a basic need for one human (or a group) to help others in distress. A help is not only human virtue but also a Christian responsibility. By focusing our help on families with many children, we directly affect on their stirring toward becoming independent from social-dependable government programs.

What are our long term goals?

• family is ready to support itself daily and manage to pay all required expenses;

• their children are encouraged to continue with school and raising their own family;

• our donors are satisfied with the activities and they are ready to help other families;

• our organization is satisfied with the results;

• family is ready in the future to become our donor and if necessary help other families that are in need of help.

Who do we need in organization? We need members and donors that will secure financial stability through supporting our programs and activities in the future. Donors may join our daily activities within the organization in order to coordinate our work better. We also need volunteers ready to donate several hours per week for actual work within the organization. Activities of volunteers and their specific tasks would be determined by the required projects and their personal interest. From that group of volunteers we would look for future leaders of organization.

How to donate?

1. PayPal donation: [email protected]

2. Direct Deposit to Wells Fargo Bank account Please email us at: [email protected]

3. You can mail personal or business check to:

Serbs for Serbs PO Box 34206, Chicago, IL 60634

4. Donation boxes: BEOGRAD CAFÉ 2937 West Irving Park Road Chicago, Illinois Owner: Dule Pavlovic

NADA’S DELI & BAKERY 7316 West Lawrence Avenue Harwood Heights, Illinois

BALKAN BAKERY 541 South LaGrange Road LaGrange, Illinois Owner: Olja Igic

COMPASS FUEL STATION 8147 Joliet Road McCook, Illinois Owner: Roy and Maria Dobrasinovic

ST. NIKOLA CHURCH 4301 Prairie Ave.

Brookfield, Illinois

CITY FRESH MARKET 3201 W Devon Ave, Chicago, IL 60659




NO COLD DAYS FOR THE STOJILJKOVIC FAMILY

As part of "Christmas bells call for help action", volunteers of the Charity organization Serbs for Serbs from Nis, helped the Stojiljkovic family of seven from Vranje. We helped the Stojiljković family in November by providing them with construction material and a wardrobe. On this occasion, the help consisted of purchasing a small wood-burning stove in the value of 3,500 RSD.

The Stojiljkovic family lives in very hard conditions in the mountain hamlet of Berivojstica in the south of Serbia, not far from Vranje. The members of the Stojiljkovic family are: father Slobodan, mother Sanja and the children: Luka (8), Lazar (5), Marija (4) and the twins Petar and Pavle (five months old).

The Stojiljkovic family lives in two rooms and one of them used to be unsuitable for living because there were holes in the walls. In such living conditions, there was the danger of the children getting ill, but because of the lack of space, children had no choice but to spend a lot of time in that room during the day.

The Charity organization Serbs for Serbs in their first action provided the family with the wardrobe and construction material, which was used to repair the room completely. Then they purchased the wood-burning stove so that the family is able to have normal living conditions during the winter, too.

We call on all kind-hearted people to continue supporting the work of the Charity organization Serbs for Serbs and in this way help and give joy to numerous children who really need help.

CHILDREN ARE OUR FUTURE




HOUSE UPGRADE FOR THE SILJEGOVIC FAMILY

Milivoj and Tanja and their five children with member

of SFS

At the end of December, members of the Charity organization Serbs for Serbs from Prijedor went to see the works on the house upgrade for the Siljegovic family of seven from the village of Miljakovci near Prijedor in the Republic of Srpska, which started at the end of October. The Siljegovic family consists of father Milivoj and mother Tanja and their five children: Tatjana (18), Vedrana (16), Jovana (14), Nevena (10) and Luka, the youngest (2). The overall amount of the money spent on the construction material is 9,225 BAM.

The old prefabricated house where the Siljegovic family

currently lives

Regular monthly income is only 105 BAM of the child support. None of the parents is employed, but the father, Milivoj, cuts down and sells firewood and waits tables, and he often works in construction for a wage in order to earn the most necessary means to support the family and send the children to school. The mother, Tanja, sometimes does part-time jobs in a company in Prijedor, but this is not a regular income for the family because they only need her when there is work to do. The family owns two horses, which Milivoj takes to the woods and they also grow poultry and pigs which they sell and manage to earn some money this way, too.

The condition of the newer house before starting the

works on the upgrade

We have to mention that we are talking about a very hard-working family. Although they live in modest living conditions and a very modest house, everything is tidy and neat. Furthermore, the daughters are very good students and Tatjana, Vedrana and Jovana are good athletes, too. Doing taekwondo, they have won many medals in national competitions. The oldest one, Tatjana, who is finishing medical school next year, wishes to study medicine at university, and we hope that there will be a way for her to continue her education.




Talking to the family, we have found out that they have two insoluble problems, one of them being the education of their children, and the other moving into a new home where they would have normal living conditions. The family currently lives in a small prefabricated house. The house is of bad quality and, as they say, the lock freezes on the inside, too, although they burn wood to heat the house. Several years ago, with the help of their friends and separate donations of local private companies, they started building the new house. They also sold a cow to continue with the construction, but they soon ran out of money so the construction was stopped. By then, they had managed to pour the concrete foundation and build the first floor. Considering the circumstances mentioned, we decided to start the action of finishing the house for this family.

Siljegovic family in front of new house

Work on the new home of the family Siljegović in

progress

Considering the approach of winter and possibly the bad weather, we started working immediately. It was necessary to pour the first floor slab and build a roof construction before the bad weather, and interior works can be continued during the winter.

New house for a very hard-working family

It is worth mentioning that the father of the family, Milivoj, having experience in the construction industry, alone and with the help of his friends did all the construction works, so our organization only helped with the purchase of the construction material. Milivoj himself said: “All I need is the construction material, because I can’t afford it, but I have my own two hands, I’m willing to work, and I’ll have no problems doing all the work by myself. I don’t want someone to build a house for me and move me into it with me just standing there watching.”

Works on the house upgrade started at the end of

October




Part of the construction material for the upgrade and

adaptation of the house

As we have already mentioned, the help was only in the form of the construction material, more specifically slab clay blocks, building blocks, cement, lime, metal framework, sawn lumber, and beams, and also gutter and drain installation.

We also have to mention that the family got the terra cotta tiles as a donation.

What follows this stage are the interior works, applying mortar and installing the electrical and plumbing wiring and pipes and windows and doors installation. We expect to start with this second stage soon.

We are going to use this opportunity to ask all donors to give their contribution for the action of building another house, which will be started and carried out by the Charity organization Serbs for Serbs.

With faith in God!




FIRST PART OF THE HELP FOR FAMILIES IN STRPCE

At the end of December the Charity organization Serbs for Serbs delivered the first part of the help to the families in the municipality of Strpce in Kosovo and Metohija that were visited during the November action. The help consisted of providing appliances and furniture, while the rest of the help in the form of the construction material will be delivered in the spring. The total value of the help delivered was 220,000 RSD.

We give thanks to our friends from the EHO Majka devet Jugovica who helped with the delivery of the help and with whom we have worked for years in close cooperation successfully and with great pleasure.

We call on all kind-hearted people to continue supporting the work of the Charity organization Serbs for Serbs and in this way help and give joy to numerous children who really need help.




AID FOR THE FLOODED IN PRIJEDOR

On 27th and 29th December, there was a charity action in Prijedor, Republic of Srpska, in which the Charity organization Serbs for Serbs delivered the valuable humanitarian aid for 18 families with children, whose homes were damaged in the May floods. As part of the Fight Against Floods action, we delivered aid consisting of 4 washing machines, 4 wood-burning stoves, 3 freezers, 3 fridge freezers, 2 beds, 1 electric and 1 gas electric combination stove, 1 wardrobe and 1 shower cabin, and the construction material in the total value of 8,598 BAM. The action of the aid in Prijedor was supported by the Serbian Brothers Help of Canada organization.

We thank our friends who helped us visit the families and deliver aid.

We delivered a washing machine

These cute children and their families we helped

purchase freezers

We gave the children the gift magazine „Svetosavsko

zvonce“




Earlier in the Fight Against Floods action, we helped the children Darjana (11) and Luka (10) Tomas, who live alone with their grandmother and legal guardian Goranka Balaba, who is the only one taking care of them and who gives her best to bring them up. Since the house was damaged in the floods, and they spent the voucher money on the house renovation, and considering the fact that the school already started, we decided to help them by buying them school books and basic clothing and shoes in the amount of 213 BAM.

Darjana and Luka Tomas

Also, we would like to appeal to the authorities to resolve the dispute in which this family is involved, because the children have been living in the dark and without the electricity since October.




The following is a list of the aided families from Prijedor, the aid received and its value.

1. Kusonjic N. (bed) - 189 BAM (three children) (SfS) 2. Stanic N. (wood-burning stove) - 350 BAM

(one child) (SfS) 3. Maric M. (wood-burning stove) - 334 BAM (one child) (SfS) 4. Mrsic D. (freezer) - 538 BAM (two children) (SBH) 5. Ancic S. (freezer) - 538 BAM (two children) (SBH) 6. Tubin D. (a bed and a wardrobe) - 538 BAM (three children) (SfS) 7. Grahovac M. (electric stove) - 429 BAM (four children) (SfS) 8. Males M. (fridge freezer) - 415 BAM (two children) (SBH) 9. Djuric Z. (shower cabin) - 269 BAM (two children) (SfS) 10. Zdjelar R. (4 palettes of blocks) - 526 BAM (one child) (SfS)

11. Stupar R. (fridge freezer) - 415 BAM (one child) (SBH) 12. Lazarevic Stevo (fridge freezer) - 539 BAM (two children) (SfS) 13. Lazarevic Stanko (washing machine) - 436 BAM (two children) (SfS) 14. Bilbija M. (washing machine) - 436 BAM (two children) (SfS) 15. Vidicevic V. (gas electric combination stove) – 476 BAM (two children) (SfS) 16. Brankovic G. (wood-burning stove) - 350 BAM (one child) (SfS) 17. Mikic M. (washing machine, freezer) - 974 BAM (seven children) (SBH) 18. Mrsic D. (washing machine) - 513 BAM (two children) (SfS)

Family Djuric next to their new shower cabin

Members of SFS with the family we helped purchase a

freezer and children we have given the gift magazine

„Svetosavsko zvonce“

The big Fight Against Floods action continues. The Serbs for Serbs Charity organization calls upon all brotherly organizations, donors and people of good will in Serbia and around the world to get involved in the action by donating money according to their possibilities into one of the accounts of the organization - www.srbizasrbe.org/donacije. Also, you can watch the reports on the aid delivered to PARACIN, TRSTENIK, VALJEVO, KRALJEVO, OBRENOVAC, SVILAJNAC, VELIKI CRLJENI, KRUPANJ, VELIKI CRLJENI PART 2, OBRENOVAC PART 2, OBRENOVAC PART 3, BIJELJINA, BIJELJINA PART 2, OBRENOVAC PART 4, OBRENOVAC PART 5, OBRENOVAC PART 6, DOBOJ, OBRENOVAC PART 7, OBRENOVAC PART 8. FIGHT AGAINST THE FLOODS CONTINUES!




HELP FOR THE FLOODED IN SEKOVICI

On 26th December, there was a charity action in Sekovici, Republic of Srpska, in which the Charity organization Serbs for Serbs delivered a valuable humanitarian aid to 11 families with children, whose homes were damaged during the May floods. As part of the Fight against Floods action, we delivered aid consisting of 3 washing machines, 3 freezers, 3 fridge freezers, 2 electric stoves, 4 beds with 4 mattresses, 3 sofas, 2 wardrobes, kitchen cabinets, a set of table and chairs in the total amount of 7,600 BAM. The action of aid in Sekovici was supported by the Stara Raska Charity organization.

We thank the municipality representatives who helped us visit the families and deliver aid.

All appliances are of the Beko brand, with five-year warranty, and they were delivered thanks to the friends of our organization from BG Elektronika Bijeljina.




The following is a list of the aided families from Sekovici, the aid received and its value.

1. Zekic Miroslav (chest freezer) - 538 BAM (two children) 2. Pejic D. (electric stove, 2 beds with 2 mattresses) - 697 BAM (three children) 3. Zekic Mila (fridge freezer, washing machine, two sofas, a table and chairs, a wardrobe) – BAM (three children) 4. Perendic M. (washing machine) - 436 BAM (four children) 5. Zekic Z. (chest freezer) - 538 BAM (two children) 6. Djordjic Lj. (washing machine, upright freezer) – 1.007 BAM (two children) 7. Mitrovic S. (fridge freezer, electric stove) – 820 BAM (two children) 8. Trivkovic D. (fridge freezer) - 415 BAM (four children) 9. Djuric Lj. (double deck beds with mattresses) – 770 BAM (two children) 10. Klisaric Z. (kitchen cabinets) - 190 BAM (two children) 11. Vukovic M. (a wardrobe, a sofa) - 394 BAM (four children)

The big Fight Against Floods action continues. The Serbs for Serbs Charity organization calls upon all fraternal organizations, donors and people of good will in Serbia and around the world to get involved in the action by donating money according to their possibilities into one of the accounts of the organization - www.srbizasrbe.org/donacije




SFS VISITED THE MIHAJLOVIC FAMILY IN UGLJEVIK

In mid-January, the Charity organization Serbs for Serbs visited the seven-member Mihajlovic family from Ugljevik (Republic of Srpska), who live in extremely sad and hard living conditions. The father, Nenad (45), works on the overhaul of the Power Plant, and after all loans are paid, the family is left with no more than 200 BAM for all their needs. The mother, Renata (36) is unfortunately very sick and has had 13 complicated operations so far. They have five children: the oldest, Nemanja (13) has frequent headaches and has fainted more than once due to hunger, Zeljana (8), who has a ventricular sepal defect (a hole in the heart), six-year-old Jovana, who suffers from bronchitis and the twins, Dajana and Srdjan (4), who are frequently sick due to hard living conditions, and also have difficulties with speaking.

The organization has helped the family three times so far. The first time was in 2012 when we took part in the action of building them a house, which was started by the Nemanjici-Ticino organization, the second time as part of the Easter action of our organization in the Republic of Srpska, and in December 2014, in respond to the call of their fellow citizens, we provided them with a package of basic foodstuffs in the amount of 529.28 BAM. The situation required an urgent reaction considering the fact that, unfortunately, the family is often starving, and the children are often getting sick due to hunger and cold.

In January 2015, we organized another visit to the family with the aim of getting to know their needs better and the TV BN crew joined us, together with the priest Mico from Ugljevik and Ms Andja from Kolo Srpskih Sestara. After meeting the family, it is impossible to stay indifferent to the effort and sacrifice which the oldest Nemanja makes for his siblings. Given the fact that his father is at work, and his mother often in hospital, little Nemanja is often in charge of everything. All the candies or food he gets from his humane neighbors, Nemanja shares in five equal parts.




Food aid delivered to the Mihajlovic family in mid-

December 2014

The house in which the Mihajlovic family lives is unfinished, so all of them live in one room. Due to lack of beds, some of them sleep on the floor. The ground around the house wasn’t graded properly and is lower than the surrounding ground, so they have problems with water collecting around the house. This leads to the house having mold, and the children having colds and not being able to spend time outside. Nemanja’s biggest wish is to have a room of his own, where he could study and do drawing, which is his favorite hobby. Zeljana doesn’t have a room to study in either, because there is no heating or furniture in other rooms.

Unfinished house and hard living conditions in which

the youngest members of the Mihajlovic family live

Things they need are: beds, furniture for other rooms, a new wood-burning stove, a refrigerator, a washing machine and an electric stove, but also the basic foodstuffs and regular check-ups, which they can’t afford.

The plan of the organization is primarily to provide them with food and clothes for the children and the appliances which would improve the quality of their lives, and then to put insulation on their house in order to keep the warmth inside the house, and after that to fit out the rest of the rooms, where the children could spend time.

After the next visit, which is arranged to be very soon, we hope, in agreement with the family, to find a more permanent way of the family making a living on their own and in this way improve their living conditions.

This family really needs a lot and the situation requires immediate reaction - first of all, the solidarity of all of us to make contributions according to our possibilities, in order for this family not to live on the verge of existence any more. We call upon all people of good will to get involved in our Christmas action, but also companies to become more socially responsible. This way we can show our people, and especially the children, that they are not alone.




SERBS FOR SERBS - CHRISTMAS ACTION IN NIS

Facing the fact that hundreds of thousands of families are celebrating the most joyful holidays in poverty and distress and that tens of thousands of children never feel the joy of getting presents, this Christmas the Charity organization Serbs for Serbs and the ORNAS Students’ Union gave joy to the Knezevic and Milivojevic families of seven from Nis.

First in line was the seven-member Knezevic family, who moved to Nis from the Republic of Srpska several years ago and whose members do not have citizenship of the Republic of Serbia even after four years because of the negligence of the authorities. As a result, the family has no income because they do not have the right to receive welfare and child benefit. Members of the family are the parents, Miodrag and Dragana and the children Milica (9), Dimitrije (6), the twins Sofija and Ksenija (3) and Sonja (1), the youngest.

Left at the mercy of no one, the family spent the days preceding Christmas in a very difficult situation. On this occasion, they received help which consisted of basic foodstuffs in the amount of 7,644 RSD. We also give thanks to the citizens of Nis who gave their contribution to the action. Members of the Serbs for Serbs Charity organization together with members of ORNAS Students’ Union delivered help to the Knezevic family days before Christmas. We owe special gratitude to Trg bakery and Verona café-pizzeria for contributing to this action.

The second family we visited was the seven-member Milivojevic family, whose bathroom was renovated out of donations from the “Trojka iz bloka” project in Nis. Members of the Milivojević family are the parents Dragisa and Mariola and the children Miodrag (11), Miljana (9), Milidar (7), Milunka (6), and Momcilo (4). This family also lives in hard living conditions and this was a good reason to visit them and give joy to the children by giving them a big package of confectionery.

We call upon all kind-hearted people to continue supporting the work of the Charity organization Serbs for Serbs and in this way help and give joy to numerous children who really need help.




AID FOR THE FLOODED IN BANJA LUKA

At the end of December, as part of the FIGHT AGAINST FLOODS action, the Charity organization Serbs for Serbs delivered another shipment of aid to nine families hit by the recent May floods in Banja Luka, primarily in the form of appliances, furniture and construction material. The total value of the aid delivered was 9,915 BAM. In previous months, we provided 15 dehumidifiers, construction material and doors and windows for more than 30 families.

List of the families who received aid from the Serbs for Serbs Charity organization

1. Milankovic R. (upright freezer, vacuum cleaner, kitchen cabinets) – 1,268 BAM (4 children) 2. Kajganic N. (washing machine with a water tank, fridge) – 1,293 BAM (4 children)




3. Kojic S. (washing machine, fridge freezer, vacuum cleaner) – 1,185 BAM (4 children) 4. Umicevic M. (gas electric combination stove, chest freezer, construction material) – 2,192 BAM (2 children) 5. Petrovic D. (washing machine, vacuum cleaner) – 585 BAM (2 children) 6. Miljevic R. (fridge, chest freezer) – 1,020 BAМ (3 children) 7. Jekic M. (fridge) - 613 BAМ 8. Cejic Z. (fridge freezer, gas electric combination stove) – 1,158 BAМ (2 children) 9. Zivkovic D. (fridge freezer) - 601 BAМ (3 children)




In previous aid actions, in August, we helped the Petrovic family by purchasing windows in the value of

641 BAM.

The Petrovic family was provided with interior doors

The Cejic family was provided with the material for

exterior insulation

At the beginning of November, we helped the Kovacevic family as well by purchasing them a mower, so that they could increase their income by mowing. The value of the mower was 2,500 BAM.

The big Fight against Floods action continues. The Charity organization Serbs for Serbs calls upon all fraternal organizations, donors and people of good will in Serbia and around the world to get involved in the action by donating money according to their possibilities into one of the accounts of the organization - www.srbizasrbe.org/donacije. Also, you can watch the reports on the aid delivered to PARACIN, TRSTENIK, VALJEVO, KRALJEVO, OBRENOVAC, SVILAJNAC, VELIKI CRLJENI, KRUPANJ, VELIKI CRLJENI PART 2, OBRENOVAC PART 2, OBRENOVAC PART 3, BIJELJINA, BIJELJINA PART 2, OBRENOVAC PART 4, OBRENOVAC PART 5, OBRENOVAC PART 6, DOBOJ, OBRENOVAC PART 7, OBRENOVAC PART 8, PRIJEDOR and SEKOVICI.




CHRISTMAS VISIT TO KOSOVO AND METOHIJA

In mid-January, the representatives of the Charity organization SERBS FOR SERBS went to the area of Kosovo and Metohija, and on this occasion visited 15 families and made a list of the things they need. As part of the traditional Christmas action, it is planned to provide the families with the most needed aid in the form of: tractor, Moto cultivator, construction material for houses and bathrooms, laminate, doors and windows, 7 wood-burning stoves, 5 electric stoves, 5 sofas, 4 fridges, 4 double-deck beds with mattresses, 3 goats, 2 washing machines, freezer, baby food and diapers, firewood, closet, dining table and chairs. We thank our friends from EHO Majka devet Jugovica, who helped us to successfully carry out another action in Kosovo and Metohija.

In the courtyard of the monastery Visoki Decani

Our journey starts by visiting the Visoki Decani Monastery. We give the brotherhood of the monastery a laptop, sent by our donor from Sweden, which they will deliver to Stefan Blagojevic, a Theology student. Stefan is a refugee from Prizren, he is at university in Belgrade, and he lives in Aleksinac. His mother supports them, and his father is sick.




With the blessing, first we visit the Lukic family from Velika Hoca counting 11 members, the oldest ones being Miroslav and Jasminka. Their son Dalibor and his wife Milica have two children, Tomislav (6) and Veljko (1). The other son Mladen and his wife Jelena have two children, Radmila (5) and Teodora (2). The third son Ratko (25) also lives with them. This family lives in a communal household. They live on Welfare and Child Benefit, but they also work hard cultivating 1.2 ha of land, so our plan is to provide them with a tractor.

Stefan and Sofija Markovic

After a short stay at the Zociste Monastery, the journey brings us to Staro Gradcko and the Markovic family. In a dilapidated house hit by pieces of shrapnel live the parents Milan and Ljiljana with their children Sofija (4) and Stefan (2). Three older family members also live with them. They have a newer house in the same yard, but it needs adapting, so our plan is to fit out the bathroom, provide laminate, front door and wood-burning stove.

We visit the Mihajlovic families in the village of Rabovce. The parents Bosko and Jelena have two daughters, Andjela (10) and Maja (8). Beside the modest Child Benefit, they support themselves by keeping 2 goats and a pig, so we agreed to provide them with two more goats and a wood-burning stove.

We visit the Trajkovic family in the village of Dobrotin. Andrija and Djurdjevka have three sons: Nenad, Nebojsa and the oldest Vladica, who is married to Jelena. They have two sons: Nikola (7) and Bosko (3). This multi-member family lives on Welfare and Child Benefit. Everybody is unemployed; they cultivate 1 ha of land and keep several pigs and goats. To make their everyday work easier, we decide that we are going to help this family by purchasing them Moto cultivator, fridge, sofa and wood-burning stove.




Baby Kristijan

In Gornja Gusterica, we reach the family of Miladinovic Goran and Sladjana, who have a son, Marko (23), married to Ana (25) and they have a one-year-old son, Kristijan. The Miladinovic family lives only on Goran’s pension, in a very old and shabby house full of mold. A long time ago, they built a new house, but because of poor financial situation, they are unable to finish it and move into it. Although they expressed a wish for getting a sofa, fridge and wood-burning stove, at our suggestion, we decide to provide them with the necessary construction material and doors and windows, so that young parents could become independent.

Baby Bozidar

The last place we go to on the first day is Priluzje, where we visit the families Ilic and Banovic. Jovica and Marija Ilic have a baby, Bozidar, who is only two weeks old. They live in very hard conditions together with Jovica’s parents and they need clothes, baby food and diapers, firewood and electric stove.

The Banovic family consists of three members: the mother, Nadica, and her two sons, Strahinja (30), who is unemployed and Batric, who suffers from schizophrenia. What the family needs most at the moment is firewood and basic foodstuffs.




On the second day, we use the opportunity to see the new monument dedicated to King Milutin and visit the Gracanica Monastery.

We head towards the municipality of Vitina, and the first village on our way is Klokot. We visit the Spasic family: the father, Jadran, lives with his wife Vasilija and they have two children, Sergej (2) and Anastasija (7 months old). They live in one room and in very hard living conditions, so we decide to purchase them a double deck bed with mattresses, a wood-burning stove and a closet.

A young married couple Boban and Nastrija Dimic live in the village of Mogili. They do not have any income, they work in agriculture. They need a wood-burning stove, and the fit out of one room in the house into the bathroom, which they do not have at the moment.

The Krcmarevic family live in the village of Grncar, Vitina municipality. There are three brothers in the family: Bojan (34), Srdjan (37) and Sasa (30). Bojan is married to Slavica (27) and they have a son, Nikola (2). Talking to Bojan, who wishes to become independent, we decide to purchase them a fridge, a wood-burning stove and two sofas.




On our way to the next family, we pass through the municipality of Gnjilane, where we visit a church in a place called Partes.

In the remote village of Ljestar, we visit Tomislav Canic and his son, Marko, who, being 20 years old, is the youngest resident of this village. A washing machine and an electric stove are the things we are going to try to provide them.

Visiting the church in Kosovska Kamenica and talking to the priest, we hear about the Miljkovic family. We head towards them immediately, and the reason is that there are ten children in this family. The family lives in a place called Grizime. The parents Zoran and Mirjana have ten children: Jelena (23), Marko (22), Milos (21), Milan (15), Milena (13), Aleksandra (11), Dejan (9), Jovica (8), Danijela (7) and the youngest Sara (7 months). They are diligent and hard-working and they keep cows, goats and pigs. What this family needs the most is two double deck beds with mattresses.

Stankovic familiy

Driving in the dark and the thick fog, we manage to reach the hamlet of Sumaci and visit the Stankovic family. There are four brothers in this family: Slavisa, Sinisa, Srdjan and Sreten. Only Sreten, his wife Nena and their three children, Milos (14), Marina (12) and Mihajlo (3) live on the estate, while the others are in Central Serbia at the moment. In order to encourage the other brothers to return to their family home, we are going to provide this family with an electric stove and a double deck bed with mattresses.

Andrejevic Vlastimir, Mirjana , Victor(4) And Marija

Not far from there, in the village of Slatina, we visit the family of Andrejevic Vlastimir and his wife Mirjana, who have two children, Viktor (4) and Marija (2). What they would find most useful and what would make their hard everyday lives easier is the purchase of an electric stove and a washing machine.




The last place we visit as part of the action is the village of Prekovce, where, after visiting the soup kitchen, we visit the Savic family. Srecko and Ivana have two children, Novak (3) and Nikolina, (2) and they live in a house which is in a very bad condition. They need electric stove, sofa, fridge and dining table and chairs.

The Maksic family from Gorazdevac consists of Ivan and Sanja and their children Aleksandra (17) and Andrea (11). We didn’t manage to visit the family, but we plan to help them by purchasing a freezer.

The plan is, as part of the Christmas action, to start soon with the extensive construction works on renovating the house of the Djordjevic family from the village of Sevce in Strpce municipality.

Every time we go to our southern province of Kosovo and Metohija, we hear about very hard and upsetting stories of the Serbian people, who is continually facing existential problems inconceivable in the 21st century. It is hard for us to see all that and hear about such sad stories, but it is even harder for our people to live in a hostile environment and without a clear aim to hope for.

Despite these problems, the Charity organization Serbs for Serbs calls upon all people of good will to get involved in the big Christmas action which is aimed at helping 50 families throughout Serbian countries.

NO SURRENDER! SERBS FOR SERBS




CHRISTMAS ACTION IN PRIJEDOR

As part of the big Christmas action, members of the Serbs for Serbs Charity organization from Prijedor visited the families Marjanovic, Zdjelar and Vuckovic on Christmas Eve. We had already helped the families several times, and this time, on the night before the most joyful Christian holiday, as befitting, we brought gifts for the children and packages of basic foodstuffs, so that the families could supplement their, unfortunately, poor Christmas tables. Also, we intended gifts for Darjana and Luka Tomas, whom we helped as part of the Fight against floods action. They were not at home, because they had gone to Sicily for their winter holiday, in the organization of the Center for Social Work, so we left the gifts at their grandmother Gordana’s house.

The Zdjelar family

The Vuckovic family

The action was started and carried out by the longtime friends and donors of our organization from Prijedor. Beside many collected gifts, a total sum of 243 BAM was raised. The action was realized through collecting gifts for children and making monetary donations, and everybody gave their contribution the way they could.

The money raised was spent on purchasing basic foodstuffs (flour, oil and sugar).

Finally, we would like to draw your attention once again to inhuman conditions in which the Zdjelar family lives and call upon the institutions in charge to find a solution for this family’s problems. Also, we have to criticize the father of the family, who put the family in this situation because of his negligent and reckless lifestyle. We also express our hope that soon this family’s difficult situation will change for the better, and that the Serbs for Serbs Charity organization will be able to help them with a specific donation, which they could use to start supporting themselves and improve their situation at least a bit.




HOUSE BUILT FOR THE VULIC FAMILY

The Charity organization Serbs for Serbs successfully finished another big project – building a house for the eight-member Vulic family from Ostruznica! The Vulic family consists of the parents, Nebojsa and Suzana, their children Danilo (15), Dejan (12), Ksenija (9), Sava (7), and Marija, the youngest (3). Nebojsa’s parents also live with them in the same household. The project of the house construction was started in mid-2012, and was successfully finished on Christmas Day 2015. The total value of the purchased material and labor costs was 13.620 €.

The youngest members of the Vulic family in their new

home – soon richer for another member

Nebojsa Vulic started building the family house in his yard back in 2003 and with the help of his friends managed to pour the concrete foundation and build walls up to the slab. He couldn’t continue further than that, due to the lack of finances and because his family was getting bigger.

In May 2012, representatives of the Serbs for Serbs Charity organization visit the Vulić family for the first time and they realize the hard conditions in which this big family lives.

Due to bad roofing sheets, the water found the way of getting into the house, gradually causing the walls to move slightly and the electric wiring to malfunction.

Having delivered the aid in the form of double-deck beds and PVC windows for the children’s room, the organization makes plans with the family to help them purchase the material for the continued construction of the new family house.

The works on the house construction started in

November 2012

The first works on the continued construction of the family house started in the fall of 2012. The organization provided the necessary material, while the father, Nebojša, together with his friends worked on the house construction.




The first bathroom was built in April 2014, as part of the

“Trojka iz bloka” project

During 2013 and 2014, the electrical and plumbing wiring and pipes were installed throughout house, mortar was applied to the walls, windows and doors were installed, the first floor was built, the roof, insulation, PVC flooring, tiles and sanitary ware for two bathrooms were installed, central heating system was installed and other necessary works on the house were done.

Also, we would like to point out that the Vulic family received a lot of help from their neighbors, friends and relatives, in the form of the construction material but also in doing the construction works.




The look of the house of the Vulic family in April 2013

The look of the house of the Vulic family in January

2015

The Vulic family will get another family member in spring, and after the baby is born, they will officially move into their new home. Until then, there is a lot of work to do on moving things, children’s rooms, beds, closets and other necessary furniture into the new house.

The family Vulic with members of HO SFS

With great joy, we can declare another big project of the Serbs for Serbs organization successfully finished, above all, thanks to constant support of numerous donors from Serbia, region but also worldwide. On behalf of the Vulic family, we would like to give everybody big THANKS.

CHILDREN ARE OUR FUTURE SERBS FOR SERBS




THE SUMATIC FAMILY GOT A NEW KITCHEN

As part of the FIGHT AGAINST FLOODS action, the Charity organization SERBS FOR SERBS provided the Sumatic family from Doboj with kitchen cabinets in the value of 575 BAM. The donation for the Sumatic family was provided by the fraternal organization Serbian Society Zaduzbina from Slovenia, who we thank once again for the support. The Sumatic are a four-member family from Usora, a housing development in Doboj, which was severely damaged in the May floods. The family takes care of Marko Sumatic, who has had three heart surgeries so far and these days is preparing for the fourth one.

Completely finished kitchen in the Sumatic home

Installing of the kitchen cabinets in the Sumatic home

We hope that we have made his difficult childhood easier both for him and his family.

Marko Sumatic, before his fourth heart surgery

The Charity organization SERBS FOR SERBS continues with projects that aim to provide aid for flooded families, as part of the FIGHT AGAINST FLOODS action in the territory of the Republic of Srpska. During February, the plan is to help another 50 families in several cities hit by the May floods.




AID FOR THREE FLOODED FAMILIES

As part of their big FIGHT AGAINST FLOODS project, the Charity organization Serbs for Serbs delivered two wood-burning stoves and one electric stove in the total value of 61.988 RSD to the flooded Maksimovic family from Smederevska Palanka and the Miladinovic and Matic families from Krupanj.

The Maksimovic family from Smederevska Palanka consists of the single mother, Ivana, grandmother Dragica and the children, Kristijan (10) and Lazar (11 months). The Maksimovic family received a wood-burning stove.

The Miladinovic family from Krupanj was provided with an electric stove. Members of the Miladinovic family are the parents, Milan and Dragica with the twins, Tamara and Teodora, who are ten years old.

The Matic family receives a wood-burning stove

The Matic family from Krupanj whose members are the parents, Dragan and Snezana and their sons, Petar (13) and Aleksandar (12), received a wood-burning stove.

The big FIGHT AGAINST FLOODS action continues. The Charity organization Serbs for Serbs calls upon all fraternal organizations, donors and people of good will in Serbia and around the world to get involved in the action by donating money according to their possibilities into one of the accounts of the organization n - www.srbizasrbe.org/donacije. Also, you can watch the reports on the aid delivered to PARACIN, TRSTENIK, VALJEVO, KRALJEVO, OBRENOVAC, SVILAJNAC, VELIKI CRLJENI, KRUPANJ, VELIKI CRLJENI PART 2, OBRENOVAC PART 2, OBRENOVAC PART 3, BIJELJINA, BIJELJINA PART 2, OBRENOVAC PART 4, OBRENOVAC PART 5, OBRENOVAC PART 6, DOBOJ, OBRENOVAC PART 7, OBRENOVAC PART 8, PRIJEDOR, SEKOVICI and BANJALUKA.




AID FOR FENEK AND RAKOVICA

At the end of January, the Association of women from Serbia and Russia “Matrona” donated aid in the form of cooking oil and flour for the Fenek and Rakovica Monasteries. The Fenek Monastery in Jakovo received 600 liters of oil and 480 kg of flour for the needs of the kitchen, in which about 70 meals for the needy are prepared every day. Also, the Rakovica Monastery received 370 liters of oil and 320 kg of flour, which will be distributed to disadvantaged families. The action was supported by the Charity organization Serbs for Serbs from Belgrade and International Fund for the Unity of the Orthodox Peoples from Moscow.

Aid delivery to the Fenek Monastery

New aid actions to monasteries in Belgrade and vicinity are being prepared. We call upon all people of good will to contact us and support the following aid deliveries to monasteries in the form of basic groceries.




STUDENTS HELPED THE MARKOVIC FAMILY

The second charity volleyball tournament was held at the end of April and the beginning of May, 2014 in the sports hall of the Faculty of Philosophy - University of Belgrade. It was organized by sports associations of the Faculties of Philosophy and Philology. In cooperation with the brotherly Charity organization Serbs for Serbs, whose work the members of both associations have been following for a long time with the utmost respect, we have decided to give the money (51,000 RSD) raised in this charity action to the eight-member Markovic family from Zemun. They were provided with a fridge freezer and an electric stove in the total value of 57,989 RSD.

The tournament consisted of both Men’s and Women’s competitions and there were eight teams in each competition. In the Women’s competition, the competitors were the teams of the Faculty of Philosophy, Faculty of Philology, Faculty of Economics, Faculty of Mechanical

Engineering, Faculty of Organizational Sciences (FON), Faculty of Special Education and Rehabilitation, Singidunum University, and ICT College. In the Men’s competition, the competitors were the teams of the Faculty of Philosophy (1 and 2), Faculty of Philology (1 and 2), Faculty of Mining and Geology, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and ICT College, as well as the team of „Ekonomika“ volleyball club who showed their humanity and traveled from Valjevo to take part in this tournament, for which the organizers are especially thankful.

After interesting matches in pools, the teams who got to the semifinals in the Women’s competition were the teams of Faculty of Philology, Faculty of Economics, FON and Singidunum. The Faculty of Philology team beat the Faculty of Economics team, and the Singidunum team beat the FON team. In the match for third place, the Faculty of Economics team beat the FON team and deservedly took third place in this tournament. In the finals the match was played between the teams of the Faculty of Philology and the Singidunum University. The Faculty of Philology team played brilliantly throughout the tournament and won the title in the Women’s competition, but the Singidunum team can also be proud of themselves for taking second place, especially if we take into consideration the competition in this tournament.




Not less interesting were the matches in the Men’s competition. After matches in pools, the teams who got to the semifinals were the teams of the Faculty of Philosophy (1) and Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, and the teams of Faculty of Philology (2) and Faculty of Mining and Geology. The match for third place was played between the teams of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Faculty of Mining and Geology, and the victory was won by the Faculty of Mining and Geology team after a great fight in three sets. The winners of the matches in the semifinals were the teams of the Faculty of Philosophy (1) and Faculty of Philology (2). The Faculty of Philology team (2), who stayed focused and scored the key points in the deciding moments of the match, won deservedly, but the Faculty of Philosophy team (1) were also satisfied for putting another trophy in their trophy display.

After awarding the trophies and certificates to the best teams, there was a picture taking of all the participants, organizers and spectators of this tournament, which is starting to be a tradition. The organizers promised to hold a charity volleyball tournament again in 2015, possibly even better than the preceding two. The same evening the tournament was over, there was a party in a Baš, baš mali Balkan pub, following the successfully finished tournament. The party was another event in which the money was raised for out charity action, and the owner of the pub donated part of the profit to our fund, for which we thank him a lot.

The members of the Markovic family are the parents Mirko and Nikoleta and the children: Petar (19), Deni (17), who suffers from cerebral palsy, Danijel (15), Danijela (14), Teodora (8) and the youngest Viktorija, who turned 14 months.

Members of the Markovic family between the new

electric stove and refrigerator

The family lives on Welfare and Child Benefit, because both parents are unemployed. As they say, they sometimes earn money by doing part-time jobs, but that is only a short-term income. We use this opportunity to express deep gratitude of the Markovic family to all the participants of the second charity volleyball tournament, held at the Faculty of Philology.

We also wish to give special thanks to all the teams and their players in both competitions who took part in this charity tournament, to the University Sports Federation of Belgrade, who supported the organization of the tournament as always, to the Volleyball Federation of Belgrade and Serbia who delegated the referees to referee all the matches for free, to the referees themselves who did the job immaculately, to the volunteers of the tournament, to the administration of the Faculty of Philosophy who authorized the use of their sports hall for this tournament and the administration of the Faculty of Philology who helped financially the organization of the tournament.




SFS ON RTRS-CHRISTMAS PROGRAM

At the end of December, the TV crew from RTV Republika Srpska visited the Belgrade office of the Charity organization Serbs for Serbs and made a short interview with the members of the organization, which was broadcast as part of the Christmas Open Program on RTRS. The interview was used to briefly present the way the organization works, as well as the amount of donations gathered and the form of help delivered to multi-member families in need in Serbia, Republic of Srpska, Krajina, Montenegro, FYR Macedonia and Herzegovina. These donations directly helped about 4,000 children. …………………………………………………………...

357 HELD A CHARITY CONCERT

On January 9, famous Serbian rock band 357 held a charity concert at Fest club in Zemun. The money made by selling the tickets was intended for the Christmas action of the Charity organization Serbs for Serbs. We are using this opportunity to thank everyone who attended the concert, especially the lead singer, Nikola

Hadzi Nikolic and all the members of the 357 band for their support. The total amount of the money raised was 76,430 RSD and 10 €.

Once again, we thank the brothers from the 357 band and all the people who supported our action.




ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FOR SFS

On Monday, 26th January, the representatives of JSC Djuro Salaj, Art and Culture Department, gave the Acknowledgement to the representatives of the Charity organization Serbs for Serbs for their involvement in humanitarian actions in cooperation with the Akademija 28 from Belgrade in the previous 2014. We are using this opportunity to give thanks to our friends from the Akademija 28 organization in the hope that together we can gather even more socially responsible companies throughout Serbia willing to give their contribution to humanitarian actions aimed at helping children from socially vulnerable families.

NEW RECORD YEAR FOR THE SERBS FOR SERBS

Bar graph the overall sum of the donations received

since 2006

The Serbs for Serbs Charity organization continued their diligent and devoted work on helping multi-member families in need all over the Balkans also in 2014, which will definitely be remembered by the record in the help delivered to families as well as the overall sum of the donations gathered.

And on this occasion, we wish to express deep GRATITUDE to all the donors and friends of the organization SERBS FOR SERBS all over the world who contributed to providing considerable help for over a thousand families in need with over four thousand children from 2005 when the organization was founded to the end of 2014.

Bar graph overview of the total number of donations

received since 2006

NO SURRENDER!

CHILDREN ARE OUR FUTURE!

SERBS FOR SERBS




SERBS FOR SERBS CHARITY SHOP




Donors in January : 1. Compass Fuel donation box (IL) - $ 36 2. Balkan Bakery donation box (IL) - $ 10 3. Beograd Café donation box (IL) - $ 72 4. Nada's Deli & Bakery d. box (IL) - $ 20 5. St. Nikola, Brookfield d.box (IL) - $ 15 6. Bubamara cafe d. box (IL) - $ 10 7. Srdjan Knezevic - $ 50 8. Radomans Framing (CA) - $ 15 9. www.usaserbs.net (IL) - $ 25 10. Srdjan Gavrilovic (GA) - $ 15 11. Milos Koprivica (MD) - $ 30 12. Zeljka Bucalo (NV) - $ 25 13. Miodrag Bogdanovic (TX) - $ 100 14. Milan Dobras (AZ) - $ 15 15. Tihomir Bajic (CA) - $ 100 16. Aleksandar Zivanovic (NV) - $ 200 17. Slavisa Karach (GA) - $ 25 18. Mladen Radakovic - $ 20 19. Ivan Aksenitjevic (MD) - $ 25 20. Veljko & Gordana Uveric (OH) - $ 15 21. Emina Ivetic (CA) - $ 20 22. Dragana Nikolic (TX) - $ 30 23. Dragana Beara (CAN) - $ 50 24. Olja Meyer (NY) - $ 25 25. Ivan Radulovic (NY) - $ 25 26. Aleksandar Micic (MO) - $ 15 27. Milan Zdrnja - $ 25 28. Irena Gumbert (CA) - $ 25 29. Vesna Kozomora (IL) - $ 25 30. Helana Urukalo (CAN) - $ 15 31. Dragana W. - $ 20 32. Predrag Kisa - $ 50 (Valley of teh Sun United Way) 33. Nikola Mrdakovic (IL) - $ 40 34. B. Bojanic (IL) - $ 15 35. Zoran Starcevic - $ 20 36. Nenad Milasinovic (Australia) - $ 25 37. Daniel Plavsic (WA) - $ 25 38. Igor & Lana Glisic - $ 50 39. Aleksandar Zivanovic (NV) - $ 100 40. Dragana Mirkovic - $ 50 41. Milen Tesic (IL) - $ 20 42. Ivan Aksentijevic (MD) - $ 25 43. Tanja Josipovic - $ 25 44. Dragisa Djordjevic (MD) - $ 15 45. David Gavric (IN) - $ 50 46. Marta Stojanovic (CAN) - $ 25 47. Biljana Bursac (CO) - $ 15 48. Bojan Jovanovic (IL) - $ 25 49. Srdjan Markovic (CA) - $ 25

50. Neven Cvetkovic (Sweden) - $ 50 51. Susi Scuchard (SD) - $ 25 52. Dragisa Zivkovic - $ 15 53. Ankica D. (NJ) - $ 25 54. Studio Artist X (Nederlande) - $ 20 55. Jessica Jurkiewicz - $ 50 56. Nina & Maksim Krsmanovic (VA)- $50 57. Vladislav Tomic (NY) - $ 10 58. Sinisa Peric (MD) - $ 50 59. Andreja Simovic (CA) - $ 100 60. Zoran Mladenovic (MD) - $ 100 61. iSerbApparel.com - $ 10 62. Aleksandar Tanasic (CAN) - $ 25

_________________________

TOTAL IN JANUARY: $ 2.228




DONATIONS IN 2015.

NUMBER OF DONORS IN 2015.




www.serbsforserbs.org [email protected]

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serbs for serbs report january 2015

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