German ASB in Serbia – Support to the Shelter for Adults and Elderly in struggle against tiv COVID-19

2020-04-09

The Shelter for Adults and the Elderly in Belgrade today received modest donations from the German non-governmental organization Arbeiter Samariter Bund (ASB) and the local association Initiative for Development and Cooperation (IDC), as a first aid in mitigating the causes and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Republic of Serbia.

Based on the decision of the Arbeiter – Samariter – Bund eV (ASB) headquarters in Cologne to allocate emergency funds as an emergency help and the expressed needs of social services institutions in Serbia, the ASB office in Belgrade and IDC awarded the Shelter with a refrigerator, freezer, bread cutter, roller and disinfectant, 5000 pieces of gloves, 1,500 masks and 600 pieces of disinfectants.

On behalf of the employees and beneficiaries of the Shelter for Adults and the Elderly, we would like to thank ASB and IDC for this significant help, as no donation has been realized so quickly so far – which in many ways means to us in the current situation. The resulting machines and disinfectants will further contribute to the improvement of general hygiene and sanitation conditions. In the current situation, our users are among the most vulnerable, since they do not own a home for the most part, and due to the prescribed measures, it is necessary to get them out of the street and provide them with the necessary protection“, emphasized Nevenka Nikic Simatkovic, Director of the Shelter

At the Shelter in Kumodraska Street, assistance and accommodation are currently provided for 111 people, while the accommodation capacity is 104. Users are between the ages of 26 and 89. This institution which is financed by the City of Belgrade, provides accommodation, nutrition, health care services as well as support to beneficiaries by social workers and through the organization of various incentive programs. During the emergency, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, sanitary and disinfection measures were intensified at the shelter and all emergency recommendations and regulations were observed.

Gordan Velev, Director of the ASB Office in Serbia stated that ASB is always helping the most vulnerable, and homeless people are definitely in the current situation at the first blow of the epidemic.

With the support of our Cologne office, in addition to this donation of € 10,000, we have provided similar donations in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo. We implemented this action today together with the partner organization IDC, where the amount of ASB assistance is worth € 10,000 and IDC assistance is € 5,000. We hope that the German Government, as always, will be a loyal partner and support, and that the Serbian institutions will be equally quick in recognizing the priorities and accepting donations. Donor reactions like these are a great way of responding to the current situation, but on the other hand, we need to be aware that institutions like this need continuous and comprehensive support”.

This is just one of the many humanitarian actions implemented jointly by ASB and IDC over 10 years, focused on the social sector, funded by the ASB Headquarters, the German Government, the European Union and other donors, in collaboration with numerous civil society organizations and government agencies and  institutions all over the region.

Miodrag Nedeljkovic, Director of IDC Serbia – “Today we were able to donate to the Shelter for Adults and the Elderly the equipment they needed to improve general hygiene conditions in the current situation. IDC, along with ASB, donated a disinfection and ironing roller, a high-capacity freezer and fridge, a bread chopper as well as a large amount of gloves and disinfectants, and the donation was made possible by Arbeiter – Samariter Bund Germany. IDC will endeavor to make similar donations in the coming period”.

In addition to supporting the efforts of the Republic of Serbia and its citizens to combat this global plague, the ASB is currently conducting similar activities in the Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, helping where it is most needed.

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ASB is a German aid and welfare organisation, engaged in areas such as civil protection, rescue services and social welfare services. As a non-political organisation, ASB has, since its foundation in 1888, provided rapid and direct help to all those in need of our support.

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