Capital: Belgrade
Area: 88,412 km²
Population: 9.4 million (2002)
Ethnic groups: Serbs, Albanians, Montenegrins, Hungarians, other
Official language(s): Serbian
Religion(s): Serbian Orthodox, Muslim, Roman Catholic, Protestant, other
Currency: 1 Yugoslav Dinar = 100 paras

SOS Children's Villages activities in the country

The SOS Children's Village work in Serbia, which belonged in these days to former Yugoslavia, started back in 1970 and, in the early stages, was much supported by the former health and social minister, Milorad Pavlovic. The first SOS Children's Village was opened in Sremska Kamenica, a small village close to Novi Sad on November 15th, 1975 and the first families were able to move in. An SOS Youth Facility was also attached to the SOS Children's Village.

When the war broke out in the former Yugoslavia in 1991 there was a flood of refugees from all parts of the country. Both the SOS Children's Village and the youth house took in refugees and looked after them. In 1999 the war escalated after it had been impossible to reach a peace agreement between Serbia and Kosovo. Social conditions worsened drastically and SOS-Kinderdorf International organised a transport of aid materials to SOS Children's Village Novi Sad. During the chaos of the war, the SOS Children's Village was also damaged and had to be renovated. After the bombing of 1999 children with mild disabilities were accommodated in the youth house so that they could attend the nearby school for children with special needs. Some time later the SOS Children’s Village and the youth house were handed over to the municipality of Novi Sad

In June 2003 the construction works for a SOS Children's Village started in Kraljevo, Central Serbia. At the same time also a programme for strengthening the families, in cooperation with a social centre in Kraljevo, has been supported by SOS Children's Villages Serbia until mid 2005. In April 2005 the first children moved into the SOS Children's Village Kraljevo.

At present there is one SOS Children's Village in Serbia.

Contact:
SOS-Kinderdorf International
Representative Office Kraljevo
Ul. Prvomajska 46-A
36000 Kraljevo
Serbia
tel. +381-36 375450, +381-36 375451
fax +381-36 375468