children in poverty – Croatia, the War, and the Future

“NO CHILD LEFT HUNGRY and NO PERSON LEFT POWERLESS” FUNDRAISER FOR CROATIAN CHILDREN

“NO CHILD LEFT HUNGRY & NO PERSON LEFT POWERLESS” FUNDRAISER TO LAUNCH ON FEB 3, 2015

Singer/ songwriter and creative artist Tajci Cameron and Portal Dobrote, a non-profit organization from Croatia are launching a fundraiser on IndieGoGo, an Online fundraising platform to benefit hungry school children in Croatia and raise awareness of connecting the power of each individual to make a difference.
Nashville, TN (January 20, 2015) –

Croatia – Is this your future?

Croatia has emerged from the war of the 1990’s as an independent, progressive state. Yet the most important part of this nation’s future, its children, have been forgotten in the process.

Many school students throughout Croatia do not eat lunch. Their lunch accounts have been cancelled as an extravagance their families cannot afford to pay.

This is the cold reality for many Croatian families. Due to difficult socio-economic circumstances, even parents who are employed struggle to provide enough food for their children.

Ina Vukic, Prof. (Zgb); B.A., M.A.Ps. (Syd) and blog writer of ‘Croatia, the war and the future’, recently quoted a UNICEF report from October 2014, that stated child poverty in Croatia has increased by 50% since 2008. Croatia is not considered a ‘third world’ country but large portions of the population live in degrading conditions.

Meet Croatia’s working poor;

● The 2011 census pointed to 900,000 people or 33% of people living on the brink of poverty. This number continues to rise.
● Croatian Social Welfare system data from February 2013 stated that there were more than 40,000 children living in poverty.
● The Croatian Ministry of Social Welfare has quoted in its press release dated 17 October
2014 that there has been a 10% rise in the number of children dependent on social welfare in the past two years.
The Initiative: Portal Dobrote (The Portal of Kindness)

Four unassuming Croatian women, sisters Sanja, Tanja and Josipa Bijonda, and their
close friend Petra Mikic have become active in the broader Croatian community to fight this unacceptable hunger.

They are Founders of the program ‘Bread For Later’; where donors pay for their own bread plus one extra loaf. These extra loaves are set aside for collection by local families struggling to put meals on the table each day.

‘Portal Dobrote’ (translation – Portal of Kindness) was created. The aim of the group is to
provide basic day- to-day assistance to the forgotten people of Croatia, at the same time shining a light on the problems they face, and the fact that waiting for ‘someone else’ to fix the problems is not a solution.

The Founders of Portal Dobrote were shocked to discover many children were only eating once a day and that a school lunch was a luxury, not a necessity. This inspired them to create their latest campaign, ‘No Child Left Hungry in Croatia’.

Tajci – Inspiration from the United States

The Founders of Portal Dobrote reached out to another strong Croatian woman, Tajci Cameron (pronounced TY-chi). Even though she was on the other side of the globe Tajci instantly felt a strong connection to these women.

Tajci, known to Croatian audiences for her mega-hit “Hajde da ludujemo”, her orange dress and the wave of optimism she spread through the region performing at the “Eurovision Song Contest” in 1990, has built a successful career in the United States as an inspirational performer and producer and host of her own TV show, “Waking Up In America”.

Tajci was looking to partner with a benefit organization on a project connected with the new song release “Uzorita” by Croatian lyricist Lara Hajdarpasic and composer Goran Topolovac. “Uzorita” is a song about bringing hope, love and light to each other. When Portal Dobrote approached Tajci for help with their campaign, Tajci realized it was a perfect fit.

From her home in Nashville, TN, Tajci responded with enthusiasm and the IndieGoGo fund raiser campaign “No Child Left Hungry & No Person Left Powerless” was born.

The campaign is scheduled to be launched on February 3rd and will run for 40 days.

Portal Dobrote wants to use their simple but effective methods to provide hot, nutritious meals in schools, available to students who would usually have empty stomachs all day long.

It’s time to remember the forgotten, to hear the silenced, to feed the hungry. Croatia, it is time to look after your children, they are the future of the Nation
It’s time to help women like Sanja, Tanja, Josipa and Petra to create a culture of empowerment, creativity and innovation among people who are losing hope for a better tomorrow.

All the details about the logistics, the accountability and the transparency of this campaign are explained in the interview Tajci conducted with the women, (‘No Child Left Hungry & No Person Left Powerless’ interview).

Visit the campaign on IndieGoGo.com – No Child Left Hungry & No Person Left Powerless (enter campaign title in browser) and donate. ‘There is no small help; any help is a big help’ Sanja Bijonda of “Portal Dobrote” reminds.

Join Facebook group ‘Waking Up For Good’ and share the message with friends.

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Related links and more information:

IndieGoGo Campaign Link: http://www.indiegogo.com/project/preview/f49a24aa
Campaign video trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oovhcO8tneY Full length video interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAuP7Atjpfg

Portal Dobrote website: http://portal-dobrote.com.hr/ Tajči’s website: http://tajci.net

Facebook ‘Waking Up For Good’: https://www.facebook.com/groups/607990236013017

Burns Night 2015 In Croatia To Aid SOS Children’s Village Foundation

“Then let us pray that come it may,
As come it will for a’ that
That Sense and Worth, o’er a’ the earth,
May bear the gree, and a’ that.
For a’ that, and a’ that,
It’s comin yet for a’ that,
That Man to Man, the world o’er,
Shall brothers be for a’ that!”

A verse from song by Scottish poet Robert Burns “A Man’s A Man”, 1795, in which he speaks of liberty and independence. In that verse Burns pleads that mind and character should be the standard for judging men, not their wealth or position.

The Homeland War or Croatian War of Independence in the early 1990’s had a devastating effect on Croatia’s economy and poverty, mainly due to high unemployment, spreads viciously by the day, cutting the meeting of even the basic of needs from under the feet of helpless children.

Burns Night in Croatia
Photo: croatiaweek.com

2015 Burns Night in Zagreb, in honour of Scotland’s greatest poet, will be a gala event presented by the Croatia-based United Kingdom Friendship Society, the British House and the Esplanade Hotel, and with the kind media support of Croatia Week and Soundset Plavi.
It will be held on the night of January 17th, 2015 at the Hotel Esplanade in Zagreb.
Raffle and all profits and donations will go to SOS Children’s Village Croatia Foundation http://sos-dsh.hr/en/

Burns Night 2015
Zagreb Hotel Esplanade

What a great cause.

Photo: SOS Children’s Village Croatia

Those who wish to buy a ticket may do so by emailing info@dpuk.hr (tickets are HRK 500 with today’s currency conversion rates that would be USD80/EURO66), but those of you who are unable to attend but wish to donate to the charity can do so by sending what they can to:

Drustvo prijatelja ujedinjenog Kraljevstva
Bascanske ploce 25, 10 000 Zagreb
IBAN: HR4824020061100643129
SWIFT (BIC): ESBC HR 22
Please use the reference/note “AUSBurns 2015″ or “NZBrurns 2015” or “USABurns 2015” or “CABurns 2015” or “UKBurns 2015” or “GERBurns 2015” … to mark the country from which you are sending the payment.

Photo: SOS Children’s Village Croatia

SOS Children’s Villages has been present in Croatia since 1992. Currently SOS Children’s Villages is supporting local children, young people and families in two locations in Croatia struck by poverty. The work of SOS Children’s Villages has responded to the changing needs of children and families in Croatia. The organisation works in Lekenik which is 24 kilometres from Zagreb and in Ladimirevci in the east of the country. In both locations it supports children by providing them with loving care in an SOS family, and young people by providing houses where they can learn to live semi-independently.

Photo: SOS Children’s Village Croatia

Whatever charity you support is a most wonderful pursuit of humanity and helping children whose lives are cruelly affected by poverty is a pursuit that stands out above most as children are our future and we can all make a difference to a better and peaceful future. I trust the welfare of children living in poverty will be on your mind this Christmas season especially. Ina Vukic, Prof. (Zgb); B.A., M.A.Ps. (Syd)