Medvedja – 2,500 of the total of 7,000 residents of the multinational municipality of Medvedja receive aid from the Red Cross, the humanitarian organization said.  As it was specified, 2,000 beneficiaries receive food packages, while others get meals at the soup kitchen, which operates nine of the 12 months of the year.

Every year, 500 food and hygiene items packages, as well as 5 kilos of flower per person, are distributed to socially vulnerable people in the field. The packages are sent directly by the Government of the Republic of Serbia, while the municipality of Medvedja, which covers the material costs, is a major participant in the project.  

Luljeta Kosumi, Secretary of the Red Cross Branch Office in Medvedja, said that Red Crpsss activists were trying to assist the poor as much as possible, and that everyone who needed help should not be ashamed to ask for it.

“People come here with their heads down and with small food bucket in their hands, timidly asking only for a cooked meal, since that is their only meal during the day, while there are those who say that we should never close the kitchen because they would, then, have nothing to eat, "Ms. Kosumi said.  

The Red Cross organizes the collection of clothing and footwear once per year, while assistance with paying funeral expenses is provided, too. 

The employees of the Red Cross Branch Office in Medvedja work on Saturdays, too, while on holidays, the food is distributed in advance.

Source: “Beta” news agency, New Magazine, N1 Info and Coordination Body