Flood Relief Report

Union of Christian Baptist Churches of Serbia (Serbia South), Love Your Neighbor 2.11.2014

1. What kind of help has been provided to the flood victims? Mostly, it was food, building material, some medicine, Bibles, children’s picture bibles, other Gospel literature. In the very time of flood our group organized by Mathew joined rescue team in transportation of victims on safe place. For one night in was rescued more than 2000 people. About 700 families received help in our flood and after-flood program. About 800 packages were distributed repeatedly to almost 400 families. We distributed to people general humanitarian help like clothes, blankets, sheets, beds, incontinent pads (napkins), conserved food, imported for humanitarian help. Most of that was help in clothes.

2. How many people and in which areas you (your churches have been helping? We helped people in Vrnjacka Banja, , Grdica, Trstenik, Grabovac, Svilajnac, Sabac, Ujokus, , , Paracin and some willages. Alltogather about 700 families.

3. Who has coordinated the work and who has carried it out? The work is coordinated by Dragisa Armus. In order to do quality work we coordinate with Pastors, Missionaries, Churches, Social centers, government leaders and volunteers. There was between 40 and 50 volunteers involved from the beginning of flood. Now we have regularly 15 volunteers ready to be involved in relief work.

4. What principle has been used to choose people to be helped? The poorest people are helped. Those are people in the biggest need or the people who depends on outside help. That are disabled people, people without jobs, people who struggle to survive. Among them are refugees or IDPS from , Roma people from Kosovo. These people were poor even before flood, now after flood they depend on humanitarian help to survive. After flood disaster many more people become poor and they are left without elementary things for living. Just a few days ago we had new distribution in Svilajnac, 30 packages of food. We visited and shared on package to Vlado who said: “I had 4 cows, 70 chickens, garden. Flood devastated it all and the entire house.” He was very happy to receive a package of food and we promised to continue with help.

5. With whom the Union has been cooperating in assisting the flood victims? We cooperate with government representatives, Director of social centers and Churches. This is the way how we cooperate. We are asked from them to be involved and to help people in need. We are invited all the time to help as the need are big. Our humanitarian organisation Love Your Neighbor is very well known in humanitarian activities all over

1 Central and South part of Serbia and we area active over 30 years. We are also specific in comparison with others, because all our activities are running as Love Your Neighbor under Baptist Union of Serbia. We have worked together in Vrnjacka Banja, Trstenik, Kragujevac, Kraljevo, . With churches we work together in Vrnjacka Banja, Trstenik, Kraljevo, Kraugjevac, , , Sabac, Zajecar, Kucevo, Svilajnac.

6. How will be the remaining funds used? All received funds are used by the beginning of November

7. What impact has the relief work made to the Union/Churches? It supports and encourages our effort to do our work by word and deed and in the same time promote Christian faith and prompt our testimony. In our long time experiences we always combine spiritual and material need. This time we are in work of restarting churches and mission work in several places: Kragujevac (250.000 population), Svilajnac, Trstenik and Kucevo. We must develop farther mission work and church planting.

8. What impact has the relief work made to community? Our work has great impact on community. They appreciate and highlight very much the work of Love Your Neighbor in helping people in need and they know that our organisation have done a lot for our community during the time of sanction, war, bombarding of the country, earthquakes, flood time. Generaly speaking our Union with Love Your Neighbor did a great impact by spreading of Word of God and doing humanitarian work. Specifically that impact can be described by appreciate our work when we are helping people independently in their need. They invite us to go and to help people in different need. For example, one totally flooded family in V. Banja was left without house. Government succeeded to build the house by other donation, but we are invited to help with food and house equipment which we did.

9. What would be the next steps if there was any further funding available? We want to develop work continually helping 400 people. In the same time we wont to develop spiritual work, helping them with daily need, showing love of Jesus Christ and bringing Good News and new hope. We plan to help them first with packages of food, bread, milk and heating materials, vegetables of different kind like cabbage, beans, potatos.

10. What have been the main challenges and lessons to learn? The main challenges are the struggling of people after flood devastation and our try to help them. Even more, we met a lot of them who have experienced several disasters like war and displacements. There are many who became poor over the night. There was a lot of disabled people who need help etc.

2 The main lesson? Evan in such condition, I experience in my long time work that peoples’ first need is Spiritual need and than material, knowing that two needs are inseparable primarily when people are hungry.

11. Anything else of importance a) In all our activities we need Bibles. The cost of one Bible big format in Serbian is: 8 Euros. All over again in our contact people never have Bible and we need to give them to read in their house. We are in very need for 400 Bible which will cost: 4000 Euro b) Having in mind that there are a lot of people in need after flood devastation, please, try to organize transport of humanitarian help. Special need for: 1. Secondhand comby (van) for children in who need transportation of food. They have a car which is 30 years old. 2. Beds for families 3. Sheets for hospitals 4. Sheets and blankets 5. Hospitals uniforms for personal 6. Furniture, houses devices 7. Clothes 8. Diapers for children and old people

Having more humanitarian help we can help much more people.

12. Financial report SUMMARY Donor Amount EURO Amount DINAR Received German Baptist Aid 10.000,00 1.120.000,00 Received Via EBF (BU Czech Republic, 6.536,00 730.687,57 Virginia BMS) Total Received 16.536,00 1.850.687,57 Total Spent by 1 Nov 2014 16.536,00 1.850.686,77

DETAILS No Date Flooded place Type of goods Amount DINAR 1 10 June Vrnjacka Banja Office cost, telephone 3963,60 1 27 June V. Banja Office cost 7021,00 2 01 July Kragujevac Food 113.475,00

3 2 02 July Grdica Paints 10.000,00 3 09 July Svilajnac, Transportation of food and 29.605,00 materials 4 11 July Kragujevac, Roma people Bread and milk 98.475,00 5 21 July Donji Gracac, Kragujevac Transportation of about 6000 27.000,00 jars of children food 6 21 July Ivanka Jeftic, dis. child Food 7.079,05 mother 7 23 July Flooded Kraljevo 150 complet bed 180.000,00 8 24 July Vrnjacka Banja Food 6.026,00 9 29 July Flooded Grabovac, TS Food for 90 families 151.264,03 3 30 July Ujokus, Loznica Food 100.000,00 4 31 July Vrnjacka Banja Medicine 5.700,00 10 31 July Vrnjacka Banja Food for flooded families 19.024,69 11 23 July Vrnjacka Banja Motor service for 24.000,00 transportation 12 01 Aug Flooded Grabovac, TS Loading, transport and sorting 30.000,00 13 01 Aug Grosnica, Food 20.000,00 14 02 Aug 65 Roma people, Materials, workshops 30.000,00 Kragujevac activities, volunteer cost 15 04 Aug V. Banja Office cost, telephone 4.652,32 16 19 Aug Kragujevac Food cost distribution 16.220,00 17 20 Aug Kragujevac Food for 60 blood donors for 35.900,00 flooded area, organized by Love Your Neighbor 18 16 Aug Sremska Mitrovica Transportation of materials, 12.212,00 paints 5 06 Sep Kraljkevo, Trstenik food 25.000,00 6 10 Sep Vrnj. Banja Office cost, telephone 5.885,57 19 17 Sep Kragujevac Help for heating 65.000,00 20 19 Sep Grdica Paints 15.358,00 7 19 Sep V. Banja food 27.205,00 8 22 Sep , Tekija Food and hygiene 243.859,00 21 22 Sep Grabovica, Kladovo Food 9.444,58 9 01 Oct Kraljevo, Podunavci Food, Hygiene 14.389,00 11 04 Oct Svilajnac Food 53.389,00 22 06 Oct Roma Kragujevac Bread and milk 98.475,00

4 12 06 Oct V. Banja Food 10.000,00 10 08 Oct Vrnjacka Banja Heeting 50.000,00 23 29 Oct Roma Kragujevac Bread and milk 98.475,00 24 30 Oct Svilajnac Food 24.350,00 13 Flooded places Transportation 54.000,00 14 31 Oct Svilajnac, Kragujevac, Food 124.239,00 Trstenik, Vrnjacka Banja Total Expenditure 1.850.686,77

Dragisa Armus Union of Christian Baptist Churches Zeleni Bulevar 30 3621o Vrnjacka Banja, Serbia

00381 63 1027760

Photos

Visit to the family Ismilj in July 2014.

5 Van prepared for distribution of food.

Distribution in flooded place, Grabovac in cooperation with Social centar, August 2014.

6 Short meeting with Mayer of town Trstenik after humanitarian distribution.

Distribution of flour, food and milk July 2014.

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Food distribution in SVILAJNAC.

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