Celebrating International Day of Families

May 21, 2018

Mothers of children from migrant families prepared local and country-of-origin-specific food

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Sid, May 15th, 2018 – Representatives of the EU, UN agencies and Serbian state institutions, visited today the Transit Centre “Adasevci” and the Health Centre in Sid. The delegation also participated in a celebration of the International Day of Families in Adasevci Primay School “Vuk Karadzic”.

At the peak of the migration crisis in September 2015, over 700.000 refugees and migrants transited over Sid trying to reach the EU countries. The Transit Centre “Adasevci” was opened at the beginning of October 2015. The Centre currently hosts 284 beneficiaries.

The passenger van worth EUR 19,300 was donated to the Health Centre “Sid” and two drivers of ambulance vehicles were engaged to improve the transportation of patients. Health Centre “Sid” provides 24/7 emergency care to both Sid citizens and the refugees and migrants residing in the respective transit centers. The Plate Shaker and Autoclav, essential for the daily operation of the microbiological laboratory, were donated to the Institute for Public Health Sremska Mitrovica.

Deputy Head of Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia, Mateja Norcic Stamcar and the Deputy Head of the Municipality of Sid, Zoran Semenovic concluded that Serbia, faced with great challenges, managed to provide support to migrants and refugees and  that the EU assistance provided to local communities to improve the capacity of health, communal and educational services directed for the benefit not only of migrants, but also of the entire local population, is still of great importance.

The tour ended in the oldest school in Sid, opened in 1775 – the Primary School “Vuk Karadzic”, where the joint activities of local and migrant parents marked the International Day of Families. The fathers upgraded the room for technical training and the mothers prepared traditional dishes that were served for the occasion of this common event. The basic furniture and school supplies were donated to school to meet the needs of occupational and extra curriculum activities. In September 2017, in addition to some 300 pupils this school received 40 migrant children to regular education process.

“Today, on the day of the International Day of Families, we are organizing makeover of school in Adasevci, and during the summer holiday we will completely reconstruct the school in Berkasovo. We are particularly proud of generosity, understanding and solidarity that people from local communities have shown. To all the challenges that the migration wave carried with itself, they responded by spreading a message of respect for human rights, tolerance and communion, and this assistance is our way to thank them. I also take the opportunity to commend the humane and responsible approach of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, and I give my credit to the European Union for the support it continues to provide to Serbia in the process of migration management.” – said Steliana Nedera, UNDP Serbia Deputy Resident Representative.

The listed activities in the Municipality of Sid are carried out within the EU-funded “Open Communities-Successful Communities” project implemented by a consortium of UN agencies, led by the UNDP in association with WHO, IOM and UNOPS.