Heartbreak in Belgrade: Brother and sister wait to eat and bathe in shelter. Many more are like them

Photo: Facebook/Svratiste za decu, Beograd

A little boy hugs his younger sister as they stand in the living room. He looks to the side, as if lost in thought. But when you take a closer look at the picture, it's not really a living room, although it looks like one... there's an office in front, and their parents are far away.

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These are just two in a large group of children who are coming to the Drop in Shelter in Belgrade these days. They were photographed on October 6, when as many as 112 girls and boys came to this house in a single day, a record number for this time of year. These were a brother and a sister who did not separate from one another even for a minute.

At this time of year, the shelter usually hosts 60-65 children a day, while in winter that number increases; in the period around the New Year there would be around 140, therefore the volunteers themselves are surprised that so many are coming now.

They all have a roof over their heads and families. But... they live in such conditions that the street is their second home. And then, when they have nowhere else to go, they come to the shelter, a safe haven where they can feel the warmth of home, hang out and meet their peers under the watchful eye of volunteers, eat to their heart's content, play, watch favorite cartoons, learn board games...

"A large number of children come to us with their younger or older siblings, because we effectively work with entire families. Also, we try not to favor children, but to provide everyone with similar treatment, of course, respecting their individual needs. All children who come to us have families and live with them. What they all have in common is that they live in conditions of extreme poverty, in informal settlements where access to running water and electricity is partially or completely limited, where conditions for a dignified life are practically non-existent. Here the children's food and hygiene needs are met, but we also connect them with institutions of the system with a special emphasis on the educational system," they told us at the shelter.

When colder days come, more and more children will be stopping by at the shelter. It should be stressed that this traditional shelter operates thanks to donors and volunteers. Help provided by citizens is valuable, and each of us has something we could donate - at least clothes and shoes that your children have already outgrown.

"Since winter is approaching, we need jackets and warm waterproof shoes, as well as personal hygiene products and protective masks and alcohol with which we disinfect work surfaces," they say at the shelter.

About the Drop in Shelter

The children's shelter ("Svratiste za decu" in Serbian) is a licensed service provided by the Center for Youth Integration, recognized under the Law on Social Protection.

The shelter's beneficiaries are children aged 5 to 15 who, due to their way of living, are exposed to multiple risks.

Children have at their disposal regular, nutritionally balanced meals, clean clothes and footwear adapted to weather conditions, support during education and when joining the educational system, and the shelter provides a safe environment that responds to their needs and nurtures a child's psycho-social development. Beneficiaries can also participate in various creative, educational, cultural and sports activities.

The service is currently implemented in two locations in Belgrade - in Zvezdara and New Belgrade municipalities.

(Telegraf.rs)