B92 Fund secures food for soup kitchens in Serb enclaves

The representatives of B92 Fund on June 28 visited the Kosovsko Pomoravlje District, thus successfully ending the first stage of the campaign Food for Enclaves. Its goal was to stabilize the functioning of soup kitchens in this region. B92 Fund secures food for soup kitchens in Serb enclaves On Tuesday, new refrigerating plant financed by B92 Fund has been launched, which will in these warm summer months secure optimal way of food preservation. Representatives of Victoria Group had promised to help the work of soup kitchens along with hookup engines for tractors, seed and chemical substances in order to make conditions for self-sustainable functioning of this important institution. Within this campaign, Savic family consisting of nine children was given funds for house renovating and for the new furniture. Namely, this is one of the most significant humanitarian campaigns organized on the part of B92 Fund - Food for Enclaves, in order to collect enough food and funds for future functioning of soup kitchens on the territory of Eparchy of Raska and Prizren out of fear that the enclave soup kitchens would run out of food completely in the coming days. The situation was alarming as this Eparchy does not belong either to the Kosovo state system, or Serbian state system. Within this campaign, B92 Fund has secured most needed food necessary for its functioning, as well as raised funds for food collecting and further operations of the soup kitchens which serve over 1,800 beneficiaries, living without minimum welfare needs. In the course of this campaign Food for Enclaves, B92 Fund has secured tons of flour, pastry, cooking oil, dairy products, sugar, potatoes and other food supplies needed for preparing meals. For children living in the enclaves of Kosovo and Metohija, B92 Fund secured new clothing collection, along with toy packages. A large number of donors participated in this campaign, most notably: Victoria Group, Koncern Farmakom M.B.-AD Mlekara Sabac, MK Group, Mitsides point, Polimark, Privredna komora Beograd, MV Sistem, Neimar V, and others. The B92 Fund, whose representatives had visited the eparchies of Raska and Prizren and Kosovo and Metohija on several occasions during this campaign, have secured and distributed food donations to the soup kitchens in Serbia amounting to over 2 million tons, along with money donations in the amount of RSD 3.000.000, necessary for financing the functioning of soup kitchens in Serbian enclaves of Kosovsko Pomoravlje District, which covered the costs of salaries for those who work in them, transportation fuel, power and inventory. Telekom has donated RSD 500,000 for the purpose of purchasing second-hand transportation vehicle. Apart from the above mentioned, B92 Fund has exerted pressure on the Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija to help functioning of soup kitchens, thus donating RSD 10,000,000, and the Ministry made obligation to put in the next year budget financing on that elementary level, for the minimum of welfare needs, in order to solve this problem in the long run. Upon finalizing this campaign, Veran Matic, President of B92 Fund said: “I am pleased that we’ve succeeded in the period from March till the present day to fully revive and stabilize the functioning of soup kitchens in Kosovsko Pomoravlje District, which were on the verge of being closed. Soon, this campaign will also be expanded to Strpce, where its beneficiaries will be provided with hot meal on a daily basis. We will try to make these soup kitchens self-sustainable through the development of food manufacturing. I surely hope that at least the minimum costs will become part of regular budget of the Ministry for Kosovo." "With this campaign we have proven that it is possible to carry out project in Kosovo successfully, and it surely can serve as encouragement for those who are highly dedicated to helping primarily the poor and weak. I would like to use this opportunity to call on all who are able to help to give their contribution to improving living conditions of the people living in Serbian enclaves, especially as the beneficiaries are not only Serbs, but also Roma population, and very often poor Albanians as well," he explained. “A team that is running these kitchens has proven that it works very successfully and covers a very large territory of the Kosovsko Pomoravlje District where 40,000 Serbs live,“ Matic added. He noted that the B92 Fund had showed that it was possible to carry out a successful project in Kosovo “which certainly also represents encouragement for those who devotedly work in order to help primarily the poor and the powerless“ and called on “all those who can to get involved and give their contribution to improvement of these peoples' lives. The users are not only Serbs, but Roma too, and very often poor Albanians“. “It is very important to enable financing of these institutions by the Serbian government the one hand, and on the other to gradually strengthen their self-sustainability through forming of a social firms that would be able to support themselves through food production. There is a lot of room in these parts for forming of such firms or family or cooperative kind. This should be a priority in order to stabilize the life of those who stayed in their homes, so they could stop being charity cases,“ the B92 Fund president pointed out. He assessed that the authorities should devote their attention to every individual's life and that he felt that “the commitment right now has more to do with unattainable ideas while they are at the same time neglecting individuals that we are allegedly fighting for“. “It is devastating that everybody we saw has the same conviction, that the government doesn't know anything about their lives and their real problems, because if it did there would be a lot more activities in solving those problems,“ Matic stressed. Matic with the Stevic family (B92) How to help Those who wish to donate can do so from Serbia and abroad: Donations from Serbia Account holder: B92 Fund, Jevrejska 16, 11000 Belgrade Account number: 205-333-59 Komercijalna banka A.D.- Beograd Payment details: Food for Enclaves (B92) Donations from abroad: Account holder: B92 Fund, Jevrejska 16, 11000 Belgrade Bank: Erste Bank Account details: 5401990-17539744 Payment details: Food for Enclaves (B92) Humanitarian SMS service is also available. SMS message should be sent to the number 2500. Cost of a single message amounts to RSD 100, and it is the same for the users of all mobile networks in Serbia.

B92 Fund secures food for soup kitchens in Serb enclaves

On Tuesday, new refrigerating plant financed by B92 Fund has been launched, which will in these warm summer months secure optimal way of food preservation. Representatives of Victoria Group had promised to help the work of soup kitchens along with hookup engines for tractors, seed and chemical substances in order to make conditions for self-sustainable functioning of this important institution.

Within this campaign, Savić family consisting of nine children was given funds for house renovating and for the new furniture.

Namely, this is one of the most significant humanitarian campaigns organized on the part of B92 Fund - Food for Enclaves, in order to collect enough food and funds for future functioning of soup kitchens on the territory of Eparchy of Raška and Prizren out of fear that the enclave soup kitchens would run out of food completely in the coming days. The situation was alarming as this Eparchy does not belong either to the Kosovo state system, or Serbian state system.

Within this campaign, B92 Fund has secured most needed food necessary for its functioning, as well as raised funds for food collecting and further operations of the soup kitchens which serve over 1,800 beneficiaries, living without minimum welfare needs.

In the course of this campaign Food for Enclaves, B92 Fund has secured tons of flour, pastry, cooking oil, dairy products, sugar, potatoes and other food supplies needed for preparing meals.

For children living in the enclaves of Kosovo and Metohija, B92 Fund secured new clothing collection, along with toy packages.

A large number of donors participated in this campaign, most notably: Victoria Group, Koncern Farmakom M.B.-AD Mlekara Šabac, MK Group, Mitsides point, Polimark, Privredna komora Beograd, MV Sistem, Neimar V, and others.

The B92 Fund, whose representatives had visited the eparchies of Raška and Prizren and Kosovo and Metohija on several occasions during this campaign, have secured and distributed food donations to the soup kitchens in Serbia amounting to over 2 million tons, along with money donations in the amount of RSD 3.000.000, necessary for financing the functioning of soup kitchens in Serbian enclaves of Kosovsko Pomoravlje District, which covered the costs of salaries for those who work in them, transportation fuel, power and inventory. Telekom has donated RSD 500,000 for the purpose of purchasing second-hand transportation vehicle.

Apart from the above mentioned, B92 Fund has exerted pressure on the Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija to help functioning of soup kitchens, thus donating RSD 10,000,000, and the Ministry made obligation to put in the next year budget financing on that elementary level, for the minimum of welfare needs, in order to solve this problem in the long run.

Upon finalizing this campaign, Veran Matić, President of B92 Fund said: “I am pleased that we’ve succeeded in the period from March till the present day to fully revive and stabilize the functioning of soup kitchens in Kosovsko Pomoravlje District, which were on the verge of being closed. Soon, this campaign will also be expanded to Štrpce, where its beneficiaries will be provided with hot meal on a daily basis. We will try to make these soup kitchens self-sustainable through the development of food manufacturing. I surely hope that at least the minimum costs will become part of regular budget of the Ministry for Kosovo."

"With this campaign we have proven that it is possible to carry out project in Kosovo successfully, and it surely can serve as encouragement for those who are highly dedicated to helping primarily the poor and weak. I would like to use this opportunity to call on all who are able to help to give their contribution to improving living conditions of the people living in Serbian enclaves, especially as the beneficiaries are not only Serbs, but also Roma population, and very often poor Albanians as well," he explained.

“A team that is running these kitchens has proven that it works very successfully and covers a very large territory of the Kosovsko Pomoravlje District where 40,000 Serbs live,“ Matić added.

He noted that the B92 Fund had showed that it was possible to carry out a successful project in Kosovo “which certainly also represents encouragement for those who devotedly work in order to help primarily the poor and the powerless“ and called on “all those who can to get involved and give their contribution to improvement of these peoples' lives. The users are not only Serbs, but Roma too, and very often poor Albanians“.

“It is very important to enable financing of these institutions by the Serbian government the one hand, and on the other to gradually strengthen their self-sustainability through forming of a social firms that would be able to support themselves through food production. There is a lot of room in these parts for forming of such firms or family or cooperative kind. This should be a priority in order to stabilize the life of those who stayed in their homes, so they could stop being charity cases,“ the B92 Fund president pointed out.

He assessed that the authorities should devote their attention to every individual's life and that he felt that “the commitment right now has more to do with unattainable ideas while they are at the same time neglecting individuals that we are allegedly fighting for“.

“It is devastating that everybody we saw has the same conviction, that the government doesn't know anything about their lives and their real problems, because if it did there would be a lot more activities in solving those problems,“ Matić stressed.

How to help

Those who wish to donate can do so from Serbia and abroad:

Donations from Serbia

Account holder: B92 Fund, Jevrejska 16, 11000 Belgrade

Account number: 205-333-59 Komercijalna banka A.D.- Beograd

Payment details: Food for Enclaves (B92)

Donations from abroad:

Account holder: B92 Fund, Jevrejska 16, 11000 Belgrade

Bank: Erste Bank

Account details: 5401990-17539744

Payment details: Food for Enclaves (B92)

Humanitarian SMS service is also available.

SMS message should be sent to the number 2500.

Cost of a single message amounts to RSD 100, and it is the same for the users of all mobile networks in Serbia.