Benefactors

”OUR SERBIA” CONTINUES ITS HUMANITARIAN MISSION
Ours Is What We Give
Founded in 2000 for supporting children who lost their parents in the ruins of Yugoslavia, this local nongovernment organization helped many children from Serbia and Republic of Srpska with its programs. Special support is given to children from the Serbian enclaves in Kosovo and Metohija. Along with tolerance, the children are also taught about the importance of preserving national identity, language, culture

The Beli Bor Hotel in Tara was full of children during the previous summer too. The ninth School of Friendship of ”Our Serbia” (”Naša Srbija”) included children from Serbian enclaves in Kosovo and Metohija and other parts of Serbia and Republic of Srpska. When the reporters of National Review came to visit them, bringing them books, magazines and other trifles, they gathered around. Joyful, precious, talkative. They tell us about their schools of ethnology and weaving, ecology, painting and sculpting, acting, music, journalism, computer, schools for scouts, basketball, volleyball, football, rhythmic gymnastics… One can learn all kinds of things there.
Then the organizers add, a bit more officially: ”As part of the School of Friendship program, supported by the Executive Council of Vojvodina, we organized the fourth multiethnic seminar called ”Days of Friendship”. Every year, this School of Friendship has a friend country which helps its realization. Up to now, friend countries were Austria, Norway, USA, China, the Netherlands, Cyprus, Romania, and this summer it was Spain. Therefore the Day of Spain was celebrated in Tara. The children learned many new things about this country. Numerous entertainment programs were organized, game shops, concerts, competitions, a small book fair for children. Among the guests were also the Serbian president, several ministers from the Serbian government, Episcope of Lipljan and prior of Visoki Dečani Teodosije, ambassador of this year’s friend country Inigo de Palacio Espana, ambassador of Cyprus Homer Mavromatis, ambassador of China Wei Jinghua, numerous benefactors and friends of both the children and ”Our Serbia”, including members of the gold-medal winning water polo team Vanja Udovičić, Filip Filipović and Milan Aleksić.

REAL HELP, NOT MARKETING

”Our Serbia” is a local nongovernment organization founded in 2000, for helping and protecting children whose parents were killed, kidnapped or missing during the previous wars in the ruins of Yugoslavia. Thanks to benefactors from the country and abroad, up to now it has given support to 1.500 children from Serbia and Republic of Srpska with its programs. It takes special care of children in Serbian enclaves in Kosovo and Metohija.
The children and work of ”Our Serbia” were blessed by His Holiness Patriarch of Serbia Pavle. Sharply opposite to common distaste, instrumentalization of humanitarian work for marketing and political purposes, even political misuse of children, ”Our Serbia” never emphasized, especially not when helping, that some of its founders are the present consultant of the President, mayor of Belgrade and several other famous people. They rather emphasize those who support their work, such as Banca Intesa, the main sponsor.
Then again the organizers, more officially: ”We truly gather people of good faith, regardless of their religious, national, professional and other differences. We exist in order to, as much as we can, advance the standards of living, education, social and medical protection of children and young people who lost one or both parents during the wars, as well as ill children, socially endangered families and talented children with material and psycho-sociological support. While working with children, we initiate the cherishing of the national identity, our language, culture, customs and tradition, as well as solidarity, civil behavior, tolerance and accepting differences with regards to members of other nations and cultures.”
With the program of regular financial help ”Our Serbia to Its Children”, the organization as a donator takes care of children throughout Serbia and Republic of Srpska. This program has been established nine years ago and has connected many families which received the aid with the benefactors who gave it.

FRIENDSHIP IN EVERYTHING

For years now, always in the eve of Christmas and New Year, ”Our Serbia” has a charity action ”Send a Friendship Card”. Financial means for the support of children are raised by selling greeting cards with drawings made by Serbian elementary school students. Following the action ”Friendship Parks”, 150 schools in underdeveloped Serbian municipalities were equipped. It is a gesture of support to the inhabitants of these municipalities and contribution to preventing the dying out of villages, strengthening the local community, creating better living conditions, education and playing of children.
”Kolo of Friendship”, a new charity action of ”Our Serbia” is realized with the National Ensemble ”Kolo” and ”SuperStar Worldwide” agency. Many famous Serbian artists will be involved with the aim to affirm benefaction by cherishing traditional values.
There, this is what one can find out after a few hours in ”Our Serbia” School of Friendship in Tara. The School is above all an important place where children study and love and where they are taught and loved, and visited by the most respectable people from culture, sports and politics.

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My Better Tomorrow
”Our Serbia” directs its children to a path on which they would become good people, a path on which they would also continue the ring of benefaction, by helping some other children or people in the future. This should bring the best results in the future: the children it now supports will become noble and successful people like the ones supporting them now, and continue supporting others. By supporting children, they say, they invest in a better future of Serbia. It is also indicated by the motto of ”Our Serbia”: My Better Tomorrow.