For many families living in poverty in Serbia, it is often impossible to let their children attend preschool, even though this is stipulated by law. The consequences are grave especially for members of minorities: their mother tongue is not Serbian, which is why they are at a disadvantage right from the start. Many (approx. one third) drop out of school early, and therefore have a hard time finding a job. Unfortunately, life on the street is often predestined.
Our project partner from previous years – The Centre for Youth Integration (CYI) – has recognized this problem and jointly with the H. Stepic CEE Charity we act preventively. “Puzzling the support” prepares our fosterlings for preschool, provides daily support to preschoolers, supports first graders with their school obligations, and also provides them with clothes and shoes. Furthermore, we help the parents to register their children at school and support them regarding visits to the authorities.
“In the book ‘In my shoes 2’, published by CYI, when one of the street children is asked: ‘What would you do, if you were rich?”, he answers: ‘I would help the poor and people in trouble.’ This is amazing; we could learn so much from these children, like helping others as they would do if they could. To do so, no donation is too small. I thank everyone who makes this project possible and gives our fosterlings a positive outlook”, says Milana Prodanovic, RBI-staff member and supervisor of our projects in Serbia.
*for privacy reasons, the children's faces have been blurred
