World Vision Reaches 100,000 Refugees in Serbia

With the help of donors and partners, World Vision continues to provide much needed help to refugees traveling through Serbia. In the past three months, World Vision helped more than 100,000 refugees through the distribution of food, water, clothes, hygienic items, as well as conducting child protection activities through Child Friendly Space and outreach.

As part of the larger Syria crisis response, the Western Balkans Refugee Response, World Vision has been providing urgent aid along the Serbian border first with Hungary and later with Croatia since September 8, 2015. During this period, over 500,000 refugees have crossed the borders and World Vision teams have been quick to adapt and provide assistance in close cooperation with stakeholders in the field, such as Commissariat for Refugees of the Republic of Serbia and other international NGOs.

World Vision quickly became one of the most recognized key players on the ground earning respect from the stakeholders and making a difference for hundreds of thousands the most vulnerable people.

“I am very proud to lead and be the member of team on the ground,” said Jasenko Eminovic, response manager for World Vision’s response in the Western Balkans. “Our staff is directly participating in and responsible for aid distribution intended for the most vulnerable and other people in need. As an organization focused on the well-being of children, our main task is to help the girls and boys, adolescents, their families and unaccompanied children. This has been achieved by continuous presence of dedicated and passionate staff in the field. We continue to monitor situation here in Serbia and we are ready to proactively adapt our operations to imminent alteration in refugee transit routes or changes in the dynamics or context", said Jasenko.

In the near future World Vision will continue with its work in Serbia, a country known for its extremely harsh winters, when temperature can drop to -20C. To help refugees survive, World Vision will begin giving out sleeping bags and other winter items in order to protect refugees from the cold weather and its effects.

More refugees are expected to cross the borders into Serbia. With the support of organization such as Action Deutschland Hilft, DFiD, ECHO, EO Metterdaad, Irish Aid and Unicef, World Vision will continue to provide support to as many refugees as possible in order to make their journey a little more bearable.