14 January 2021
Migrants’ gifts cheered beneficiaries of the Shelter for Adults and Seniors in Vranje
Today, migrant children accommodated in the Reception Center in Vranje cheered the elders from the Shelter for Adults and Seniors in Vranje with holiday gifts and hand-made greeting cards. This is the fourth year in a row that migrants from Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries visit the beneficiaries of this institution during the New Year and Christmas holidays, in order to wish them good health and joy in the upcoming year.
This has been yet another way in which migrants expressed their gratitude to the local community for their humanity and solidarity.
Due to the current epidemiological situation, the usual socialization of migrants with the elders was unfortunately left out this time. However, the visit itself, holiday gift packages and greeting cards that the children made for them, cheered the day and the beginning of the year, both for the beneficiaries and employees of the Shelter.
Ivana Tasić, director of the Center for the Development of Local Social Protection Services, within which the Shelter operates, thanked on behalf of the beneficiaries and staff for the attention given to the elders and expressed hope that this, now traditional practice, will continue in the future.
Amirpars, Safa, Roma, Melissa and Mubina, who now attend formal education online at the Vranje RC, said that they were exceptionally happy that they managed to put smiles on the faces of the eldest members of their community with this small gesture.
The action was initiated and implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in partnership with the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration of the Republic of Serbia, within the EU Support to Migration Management in the Republic of Serbia.