Christmas aid in Kosovo and Metohija

Aid delivery to Zivkovic family

We started the action visiting the Gracanica Monastery, and then we left for the village of Donja Gusterica to visit the Zivkovic family.

Laminate delivered to Zivkovic family

We met the Zivkovics in a working visit to Kosovo and Metohija, which we made in mid-December last year. Then we agreed on helping them with the construction of their new house by purchasing laminate (50m2). The family consists of the parents, Dejan and Marija, Dejan’s parents and the children, Petra (12), Nemanja (11), and Kristina (9). Ceramic tiles for Vasic family

After Donja Gusterica, we went to Gornji Korminjan, where we helped the Vasic family with the house construction. The family consists of the young married couple, Milos and Sanja, and their son, David (1). The family is currently living with Milos’s parents and brothers. Wishing to help them start their family life in their new house, we bought them tiles for bathroom and hall (70 m2).

Aid delivery to Stankovic family Laminate delivered to Stankovic family

The next family we helped was the Stankovic family from Donji Korminjan. The family consists of the parents, Dragan and Dragica, and their children, Aleksandar (24) and Milica (19). They were provided with laminate (20 m2), plasterboard and Styrofoam in order to fit out one room for the children. The laminate arrived just before our visit, and the plasterboard and Styrofoam will be delivered in a few days.

Aid delivery to Dimitrijevic family

Serbs for Serbs with the Dimitrijevic family beside their new washing machine

In the village of Odanovci, we helped the Dimitrijevic family, consisting of the parents, Dejan and Branka, and their children, Dusan (15), Vukasin (10), and Tomislav (5). This family is engaged in cattle breeding, and we provided them with a washing machine and 10 laying hens which are to be delivered soon.

Aid delivery to Ristic family

Next we visited the Ristic family from the village of Strezovce. We first helped this family several years ago by purchasing some basic house necessities. This time we provided them with two wardrobes, and a wood burning stove is to be delivered soon.

Aid delivery to Ristic family

Serbs for Serbs with the Ristic family beside their new wardrobes We plan on initiating a big project for the Ristic family in order to raise funds for fitting out several rooms on the ground floor of their house which is in a very bad condition. The family consists of the parents, Sreten and Sonja, and their four children, Snezana (16), Jovana (15), Milos (11), and Ivana (10). A big problem is that the parents are unemployed and this causes other problems. Also, there is not any adequate Center for Social Work, because what this family urgenly needs is a good social worker.

Having visited the soup kitchen in Prekovac and having met with presbytera Svetlana Stevic, president of the organization “Majka devet Jugovica” and Father Bogomir Stevic, pastor of Zvecane, we finished the visits and headed towards Velika Hoca for lodging.

Wood burning stove ready for Zdravkovic family We started the second day of the action by attending the Divine Liturgy at Visoki Decani, and then we went to Gorazdevac, where we helped three families after the recent attacks on the village.

Aid delivery to Zdravkovic family

Zdravkovic family now has a wood burning stove First we visited the family of Veljko and Dijana Zdravkovic, who have four underage daughters: Andjela (12), Isidora (9), Sofija (6), and Neda (4). We provided them with a wood burning stove.

Aid delivery to Kastratovic family

Kastratovic family with their electric stove and freezer The second family we helped in Gorazdevac were the Kastratovics. Pera and Milica have two children, Radmila (2) and Milic (1), and we helped them by purchasing an electric stove and a freezer.

Serbs for Serbs at Pec Patriarchy

After visiting the Pec Patriarchy and our friends in Osojane and Kosovska Mitrovica, we finished our Christmas action in Kosmet. Beside the families we visited, we also helped several families more, but we did not visit them this time, because the aid had not been delivered to them by the time of our visit.

The first family we did not visit was the family of Boban and Sladjana Krstic from Gorazdevac, who have two children: Lazar (4) and Damjan (2). They breed livestock, so we helped them by purchasing a cow.

In the village of Novo Badovce, near Gracanica, we helped the Arsic family. The parents, Milos and Dragana, have two children, Djordje (3), and Todor (1 month old). In order to fix the wall in the bathroom, we purchased tiles, plasterboard and material for insulation.

The Milicevic family Skulanevo lives in a small room in very hard conditions. The family consists of the parents, Igor and Vera, and their two daughters Nikolija (2) and Neda (1). We provided them with a cow, which will be delivered in a few days.

The Jovic family from Lipljan consists of the parents, Ivan and Jelena, who live in the same household with their two children, Andjelina (5) and Nikolina (1), and Ivan’s mother. The house is in a very bad condition, so we provided them with construction material to repair the walls.

Apart from helping the families south of the river Ibar, we also helped the Milicevic family from Socanica near Leposavic in the northern part of Kosovo and Metohija. The family consists of the parents, Milan and Sneza, and their children, Jana (17), Perica (14), Nikolina (11), and Mihajlo (4). The head of the family, Milan, works at the Water company. They receive child benefit and they are engaged in agriculture, but they would be happy if they could get a cow in order to provide dairy products for their own needs and for selling as well.

Due to recent attacks on several Serbian families, we subsequently decided to help two more families that were attacked. The first is the Simonovic family from Srbobran, consisting of the parents, Zoran and Dana, and their sons, Milan (16) and Bogdan (11). We provided them with the glass for the newsstand where they work, and which was shot at while they were inside.

The second is the family of the priest Milos Vukic from Osojane, who lives with his wife Danijela and his children Helena (6), and Andjela (3). In the attack, the house of father Milos was burgled, so we helped them by purchasing new and better front door.

Stojkovic family

We would like to remind you that we raised money in the Christmas action to fit out the house for the Stojkovic family from the village of Izvor in Novo Brdo Municipality. It was done thanks to the Canadian chapter of our organization and their "In Time For Bozic 2016" campaign, as well as the big fundraising internet campaign, which collected numerous donations worldwide. Works on the house will start as soon as the weather conditions improve.

New monument to victims in Gorazdeavc

Having finished another traditional Christmas action, we can only point out that we are deeply concerned about the fact that the position of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija is worse than ever. We are especially worried that the security situation is worse, which is proved by the recent attacks on Gorazdevac, newsstand in Srbobran, priest’s house in Osojane, numerous incidents which do not reach the media and the arrest of armed Islamists in front of the Visoki Decani Monastery. Genaral social, political and socio-economic situation in Kosovo and Metohija also add to the feeling of hopelessness for our people. Our organization will keep trying to help such climate to change and improve. One of the attempts in doing so is a project of installing a quality video surveillance in Gorazdevac, which we joined after the invitation of the Visoki Decani Monastery. If this proves to be successful, other similar projects will follow. Fundraising for this and numerous other actions is still ongoing, so we invite you to keep supporting our organization by making regular monthly donations.

NO CEDING! CHILDREN ARE OUR FUTURE!