Archive for month: May, 2020

The resulting epidemiological situation affected all spheres of life, but with strict adherence to all prescribed measures, the Center for Security, Sociological and Criminologist Research continued its work with users, children and parents primarily by providing basic foodstuffs to vulnerable families, who remained without basic means of subsistence, without food, hygiene. During the entire period behind Defendologija, with the support of our strategic partners Save the Children from several divisions, over 100 families received assistance, while with the support of private individuals, the Red Cross, the National Kitchen, the Center for Social Work, the Center for Roma Initiatives, Repopulation Affirmation Center, Miljanić cheese factory, Goranović butcher shop, doo Popović, NTC shop, managed to deliver help several times upon request and need to families whose children are directly involved in life and work on the street.

Good cooperation again showed the strength and importance of togetherness, support and mutual understanding, anti-discrimination and anti-marginalization. This period was critical when it comes to monitoring regular classes for members of the RE population, but the common will and struggle, as well as the built system of trust with users and this time resulted in support by phone, social networks and all other available means, so the users of the Day Center had the full support of the expert team of Defendology in this situation as well. On this occasion, according to the children’s requests, we handed out school supplies for over 100 children (notebooks, crayons, blocks, tempera). This period, although very negative in many aspects of life, in part contributed in a positive way, in a way that some families connected, so in regular communication with parents together we supported learning, family cohesion, togetherness and the importance of the family as a main pillar of one society.

This whole period has shown us once again that we are an integrated support service that is trusted and that only in this way we create a bridge to fight poverty, social exclusion, on the path to understanding, acceptance and togetherness.

RED CROSS OF MONTENEGRO RESPONSE TO COVID-19

From the very beginning of the corona crisis, the Red Cross of Montenegro reacted in line with its role and responsibilities in the system. There are some 100 employees, 130 professional home helpers and around 450 volunteers who are involved in the response across the country.

Red Cross continued with visits to older people (both professionals and volunteers), respecting all preventive measures, except in cases where beneficiaries are refusing the visit due to a fear of disease.

There is a Red Cross Call center for people in need (older people, persons with disabilities, people who live by themselves…) who can call and ask for assistance after which the Red Cross volunteers procure what is needed instead of them. To those in need, and after appropriate assessment, the Red Cross also provides food and hygiene items. Vast majority of the calls are related to requests for humanitarian assistance. In addition, there is a hotline for providing psycho social support where trained RC psychologists provide the necessary assistance.

Since the Call center was opened (from 19 March in the afternoon hours) until May14, Red Cross provided assistance for 33 176 beneficiaries; distributed 47366 humanitarian parcels; volunteers organized groceries shopping, paying bills, etc, for 2240 persons, including older people, people with disabilities, etc, and PSS through the hotline, the Call centre and in person (at local level) was provided to 3263 persons.

Beds, mattress and linens were provided for the location defined as quarantine by the National Coordinating Body. 5 prefabricated containers were also provided as triage facilities that are placed in front of the 3 hospitals in the country. Some tents were also set up in front of emergency centers.

Red Cross Training center in Sutomore is also used as a location for quarantine and Red Cross volunteers assisted in food distribution in some of the quarantines.

Assistance is also being provided to Roma population (food and hygiene). Red Cross of Montenegro has been working with Roma community in the country for almost 20 years now – activities related to education, health, but also provision of humanitarian assistance. RCM also has an office in the camp near Podgorica with around 2.000 Roma refugees from Kosovo. RCM is well aware of their needs and the response is currently mainly on the distribution of food and hygiene items and being organized in cooperation with community leaders. Besides this, RCM is continuously communicating with other Roma NGOs and some other organizations throughout the rest of Montenegro to provide assistance.

The Red Cross of Montenegro continuously provides assistance to socially vulnerable people in the country – older people, people without any or with extremely low income, persons with disabilities and the Roma population. However, the current situation with the Covid-19 pandemic is also affecting new categories of people – people who stayed without jobs due to restrictive preventive measures adopted by the Government of Montenegro. These are people who were receiving daily income (taxi drivers, waiters, hair dressers…) and due to complete lockdown of the country they were now forced to stay at home. Some of them also lost their job. This has increased the need for basic items such as food and hygiene items.

A large part of the members of the Roma national minority in BIH live in very difficult conditions. The current epidemic is just an additional burden for them. Little or no regular income, lack of information, poor hygiene, are just some of them. Activists of Youth Center “Vermont” within which the Day Center was working (until the decision on temporary suspension due to preventing the spread of the epidemic), visited some of the Roma families to whom they handed out food and hygiene packages of one-time assistance, adhering to the measures and regulations of the Department for security. “For us, this is just a continuation of the activities we work on every day. In our organization, young and hard-working Roma also work. Our Day Center was visited daily by a large number of children. Since we cannot work with groups at the moment, we decided to visit them, symbolically help, and provide some kind of help and solidarity in these equally difficult times for all of us”, said Damir Radenković, director of the Vermont Youth Center from Brčko.

In many families, due to the lack of the Internet and appropriate computers, phones or tablets, children do not even attend classes, and parents are said to be fighting for a piece of bread.

“My wife and I live in one room with five children, the oldest of whom has nine and the youngest, three months old. Until recently, we lived, or rather survived, from collecting secondary raw materials. There is no such thing now. We almost don’t have anything to eat, and we don’t even think about gloves and masks”, says Saban Omerovic from the Brcko settlement of Brodusa.

A similar fate is shared by their neighbors. Mehmed Salihović has six children. The eldest daughter is twelve years old and the youngest child is five months old. next to them are his parents, brothers and sisters, so that fourteen of them live in one household.

“I have an uncle in Germany who sometimes sends us something so that we can somehow survive. I would like to thank Vermont, because any help is really good for us”, emphasizes Salihović.

In addition to multi-member families, Vermont activists have not forgotten the Roma couple from the settlement of Prutača, who are preparing for the IVF procedure.

“We are certainly grateful for your help and support. My wife and I live in alternative accommodation. We have arranged it as much as possible”, says Samir Hokić, who also until recently was engaged in the resale of secondary raw materials.

The work of the Association for Democratic Prosperity ZID during the COVID-19 pandemic In accordance with the measures prescribed by the Government of Montenegro, regarding the COVID19 pandemic, the work of ADP ZID changed its work regime by switching from office to online mode. In order to adapt to the situation in which the whole world finds itself, our service in which we work with gambling addicts and those who gamble at a problematic level has continued to function, but in the form of online counseling sessions through the application “Viber” and “Zoom”. The members of our team continued to follow the needs of our society in their homes and accordingly worked on the projects they received, in a slightly changed environment, but just as well as they have done so far. At the same time, adapting to the situation we found ourselves in, the rest of the ADP ZID team continued to organize a series of activities for this year, and one of those activities is the “i2space challenge days” challenge. By organizing this challenge, we offer young people, whose plans for seasonal work have been changed due to the new situation with the new Corona virus, or have lost their jobs, do not know what to do when the situation in the country stabilizes, the opportunity to have an idea of ​​what to do next. , they develop with the help of a series of awards that we give them. With regular “Zoom” meetings, ADP ZID, with an innovative and team spirit, managed to confront the Corona virus, and to continue its activities as it did before the situation with COVID19.