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Serbian youth with disabilities enjoy recreation while learning life skills

05 Nov 2007 08:12:53 GMT
Source: World Vision Middle East/Eastern Europe office (MEERO)

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Youth prepare a meal together after grocery shopping, part of the camp activities to develop the youths' independent living skills.
World Vision MEERO, http://meero.worldvision.org

Youth with mental and physical disabilities enjoyed recreational activities and learnt skills for independent living at a 10-day summer camp by the sea thanks to support from World Vision Serbia.

The camp provided youth with disabilities from the remote villages of Kraljevo municipality, central Serbia, the rare opportunity to spend time in the coastal city of Canj, Montenegro, some 500 km southwest of Serbia's capital city Belgrade, where the camp was organized by the Association for Mentally and Physically Disabled Individuals (MNRL).

Camp participants came from seven of the 30 villages in Serbia where World Vision is engaged in community development and microfinance activities. World Vision's financial support for the children to attend the camp is a direct result of its microfinance activity and is part of its overall goal to integrate community development with microfinance activities in the communities in which it works.

"I would like to go again to that place by the sea. I have never been somewhere like that before,' said twenty five year old Maja, a summer camp participant who suffers from Down syndrome.

Children and youth with disabilities from Kraljevo municipality do not receive proper care to due to a lack of medical care in the area, and their families' lack of financial resources and understanding of disabilities.

The summer camp gave 20 youth the opportunity to learn skills for independent living such as house cleaning, grocery shopping and cooking. Attendees were aged 12 – 25, as their mental age, commonly referred to as Intelligence Quotient (IQ), is that of a child under seven years old.

'The children were eager to participate in these activities. When they returned home, their parents were thrilled to see expressions of happiness on their children's faces,' said Mr. Aleksandar Jakovljevic, the secretary of MNRL.

'We are thankful for World Vision's support of summer camp. Each year we collect donations from private sources and local authorities to organize summer and winter camps for children with mental and physical disabilities,' said Mr. Jakovljevic.

MNRL is a registered community organization that supports children and youth with disabilities by offering medical care, hosting workshops and seminars on topics ranging from physical health to inclusion of disadvantaged youth in society, and organizing excursions for children with disabilities. It has 473 members, aged 4 - 35. MNRL, which is close to the primary school for children with special needs in Kraljevo, also serves as a shelter for Roma youth.

[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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Last updated:Mon Nov 5 22:48:49 2007