Save the Children visits to affected areas in Belgrade (Serbia)

Newborn babies and a boy sheltered in the collective centre Stari Aerodrom in Belgrade 

A day in the improvised shelter for 60 families in New Belgrade and visit to Roma settlements

Last evening in the middle of the night, there is an email from our colleague, Nevena, from Belgrade. She spent the whole day with the outreach workers of our partner organization Center for Youth Integration Belgrade visiting four Roma communities in Belgrade. I browse through the photos and first hand info that she shares with us – difficulties in coordination and information sharing, while the key priority is still the evacuation of people in most of the affected areas.

Children in the Roma settlement Vidikovac in the outskirts of Belgrade,
affected by the floods

The official news state that over 24,500 people have been evacuated so far, while the treats of the breakup of the Sava bank in Sabac mobilizes lots of civilians, army and civilian defense in immense efforts to prevent further devastation and flooding of this area. The reported number of causalities is increasing – currently the official reported figure is seventeen and one person is reported as missing.

Since the day 1 of floods in Belgrade, the Center for Youth Integration has been running the shelter for 60 families that had to be evacuated from their homes. The Municipality of Novi Belgrade has provided the premises and the volunteers from the Centre for Youth Integration have been collecting donation in food from local community and Red Cross. Still, water, food for children, diapers, antiseptics, hygiene kits and towels had to be urgently procured and more will be needed in the following days. A local pediatrician has been called to visit the shelter to provide council on health of children and families and hygiene.  A clear who is doing what has been arranged as well as organization of space and daily routines within the improvised shelter to ensure children and families are well taken care of with plans for establishment of a child friendly space within the shelter.

In the meantime the information from the Group 484, our other NGO partner is arriving. They have visited three collective centers where over 450 people have been evacuated, of which about a hundred are children of different age groups. The top priorities are hygiene kits, antiseptics, clothes and drinking water.