Hope and a future
As part of our Pathways from Poverty Christmas Appeal this year we will be supporting a project run by the Good News Church in Nis, Serbia. This project is working to break down prejudice, and is to see the excluded and marginalised Roma community integrated into Serbian society.
Amongst other things, the project runs various programmes, clubs and camps to support vulnerable and isolated children and young people. Vlada Stojanovic sent us these stories of some of the children they are helping already:
Ana (10)
Ana is 10 years old. She lives with her parents 30 km from Niš but we are often in touch. She comes to our creative workshops from time to time and for summer camps.
She loves nature, she is so creative and enjoys doing crafts from different materials. She likes to swim and roller skating. She likes rap music. She has got an older sister called Rasta.
She has got atopic dermatitis and often gets a skin rash. It makes her nervous but she is doing well with it.
Her parents were separated for six months but they have been together again for the last month. We hope the family will be completed again. With the help of CRY we helped her to pay for a school residential week away. It was big encouragement for her. All her friends were able to pay but not her. She was so happy for the possibility to go too.
Emanuel (11) and Matej (9)
They have another eight brothers and sisters. Living in poor conditions. Often not having food for the whole day. Their parents are socially and mentally weak. They don’t have jobs. The youngest child in the family is three months old. Their oldest sister is 21, she has two children and they all live together.
We are helping with school lunches for three children from this family, including Emanuel and Matej. We would like to give them one more reason to go to school – they will have a lunch there... We also supply the family with a hygiene and food packet every month. If necessary, also medicine. Weekly those children have a breakfast – every Sunday before our church service. They come regularly; their parents do not come.
They are going also to music school. We believe that that good education and music education can change their future. In the past we also helped them with buying or repairing of their violins.
Your generosity this Christmas will enable the Good News Church to continue helping children like these and their families to find hope and a future in Serbia. Thank you for your support.