Lifeline Humanitarian Organization of Chicago, whose Patron is HRH Crown Princess Katherine, and The HRH Crown Princess Katherine Foundation in Belgrade, have successfully completed another major project by helping the Drinka Pavlovic Home for Children Without Parental Care in Belgrade. Her Royal Highness, together with HE Nikola Selakovic, Minister of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs of Serbia, visited the Home today to officially open the newly refurbished rooms and to deliver new furniture and equipment. This project was initially aimed in providing the children residing in the Home with better living conditions and included their education and improvement of life skills.
The Crown Princess and the Minister were welcomed in front of the institution by Mr. Zoran Milačić, director of the Center for the Protection of Infants, Children and Youth “Zvečanska” and Mrs. Hristina Kadijević, head of the Home, which is one of the working units of “Zvečanska”.
In his address, Minister Selakovic thanked Crown Princess Katherine for all the help that Her Royal Highness has been providing to our people for more than 20 years, as well as the humanitarian organizations from the diaspora that help our country under her patronage, adding: “For me, the greatest recognition today was when during the tour of these premises, Crown Princess Katherine said that she had visited such institutions all over Europe and the world, but that this one in Belgrade stands out not only for its appearance and equipment, but also for the attitude, expertise and dedication of the employees towards the users of such an extremely important institution.”
The initial phase of this major endeavour was made possible by another incredibly generous donation from The Nelson Family Charitable Foundation. This phase involved the complete and comprehensive renovation of the living area for the third educational group, including four large bedrooms, a living room, all corridors, and four bathroom taps. The successful completion of this phase also included extensive plastering and painting, the replacement of several doors, repairs to four doors, and brand-new flooring.
The second phase of this project was completed due to the great philanthropy of Dr. Nikola and Mrs. Tatjana Nenadovich. Their sponsorship of two impeccably organized humanitarian concerts, attended by Their Royal Highnesses and starring Serbian violinist Stefan Milenkovic and The Camerata Chicago Chamber Orchestra, was in support of Lifeline Chicago. This phase of the project focused on the complete renovation, adaptation, and refurbishment of a large room on the second floor of The Drinka Pavlovic Home to create a Computer Room for the children who reside at the Home. This included the installation of new electrical and internet infrastructure for the computers, the plastering and painting of the entire Computer Room, the painting of all doors, and the installation of all new lighting and new air conditioning units. In addition, the following brand new items were purchased for the room: six computers, a colour printer (with additional ink), children’s tables for the computers, six chairs for the children, a desk and chair for the instructor, a whiteboard, two cork bulletin boards, two tall bookshelves, two short bookshelves, and window treatments on all doors and windows.
“My husband and I are deeply thankful to the Nelson Family Charitable Foundation and the Nenadovich family. Through their support, we have successfully completed yet another project benefiting children without parental care, as well as children and young people with disabilities. This effort is a reminder that we are always with them, that they are not forgotten, that we love them and care for them,” said HRH Crown Princess Katherine.
“I would like to thank HRH Crown Princess Katherine for the exceptional engagement, unreserved assistance, and support throughout all these years. Also, I especially emphasize the importance of the donations from the Nelson Family Charitable Foundation, the Nenadovich family and Lifeline Chicago which is of great importance to all children and young people in our Home. This donation contributes to raising the quality of life of our beneficiaries,” said Hristina Kadijevic, Head of The Drinka Pavlovic Home.
