More than 1.000 free meals are distributed daily in Podgorica alone.
These are the data of two public kitchens - one that is financed from the budget of the Capital City and the other at the Church of Christ's Resurrection, Metropolis of Montenegro and the Littoral.
However, this is enough for only a quarter of the citizens of Podgorica who live on the edge of existence.
According to the data of the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, in May of this year, 1.264 families, or 4.487 people from Podgorica, were living on material family support (MOP), the only social benefit awarded by the state on the basis of assets.
In the municipality of Tuzi, MOP receives 121 families, with 438 members. In the youngest Montenegrin municipality - Zeta, 53 people live on welfare (144 citizens).
In Montenegro, MOP receives 6.151 families, that is, 20.820 citizens, for which the state provided 726.000 euros in May.
Citizens receive free meals in several municipalities, and "Vijesti" interlocutors point out that, unfortunately, for many, a free meal is a humiliation, which is why "it has been created the illusion that there is no hunger in Montenegro."
Podgorica: Hot meal every day
The National Kitchen of the Capital City prepares around 700 meals a day.
A free meal can be collected every day of the week, between 12:14 and XNUMX:XNUMX.
This right is exercised in accordance with the Decision on rights from social and child protection.
"These are the beneficiaries of the material security of the family, allowance for care and assistance, beneficiaries of personal disability benefits and pensioners whose monthly income does not exceed the minimum wage in Montenegro", told "Vijesta" from the Secretariat for Social Welfare of the Capital City.
The city administration points out that potential users are required to submit additional documentation along with the application.
"... Proof of residence, a copy of a biometric ID card, proof of the number of family members, an extract from the birth register for household members, proof of household members' income, proof of the applicant's and family members' health," explained the Podgorica Secretariat. .
The budget of the city National Kitchen is 615.000 euros per year, but the Secretariat claims that this does not limit their work.
"... Everyone who came in need of a meal got it, provided they met all the criteria," they said.
The Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral and the Diocese of Budimlja-Nikšić distributed 750 meals in four soup kitchens, of which 350 were in Podgorica, 150 each in Cetinje and Beranana, while 100 were reserved for Bijelo Polje.
They told "Vijesti" that the number of meals varies on a daily basis, as well as that they find it difficult to bear any budgetary burden.
6.151
families, i.e. 20.820 citizens, receive material deprivation of the family, for which the state provided 726.000 euros in May
The hardest thing for them, as they say, is delivery, which is most pronounced in Podgorica.
"During holidays and vacations, we manage to deliver food much more easily, but from September traffic jams arise, when our delivery also has problems, and because of this we are limited in receiving new requests for delivery", they state and add that the highest attendance is The public kitchen near the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, in the autumn and winter period, which is explained by the lack of seasonal jobs in those periods.
Despite budget restrictions, they try to distribute food to everyone, according to their possibilities.
"Socially disadvantaged, sick, families with small children, needy people who contact us through their parish priests, or come to the National Kitchen office, fill out forms and apply to receive a daily meal. Of course, those who come to the National Kitchen and ask for a meal will receive according to their possibilities", they stated.
Budva: Professors and students prepare food
Coordinator of the Budva National Kitchen Željko Srdanović he told "Vijesti" that they currently prepare about 35 meals a day.
According to data from the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, in Budva 32 families, or 84 people, receive social welfare.
Srdanović reminded that the kitchen was opened in mid-February 2021, in the restaurant of the "Danilo Kiš" Middle School, and that meals are prepared daily by professors and students of the gastronomy department.
From then until the end of 2021, the kitchen prepared 22.000 meals.
"This project was implemented by the Municipality of Budva in cooperation with the Red Cross of Budva and the Center for Social Work, and with the wholehearted support of the high school itself," said Srdanović.
He pointed out that 35 meals are currently being prepared, and that the soup kitchen is working despite difficult financing due to, as he stated, the well-known situation in which the Municipality of Budva currently finds itself.
Srdanović also explained that the services of the Budva National Kitchen can only be used by the local population.
Despite the good will, the work of the National Kitchen was recently called into question.
"A month ago, after the arrest of the President of the Municipality Milo Božović, the National Kitchen project was called into question, because the contract on the use of space in the high school expired, and due to the impossibility of the President of the Municipality signing it personally, the kitchen was almost closed. However, that situation was overcome, so the contract was extended, and further financing of the entire project was provided", stated Srdanović and said that another active problem is that during the summer months the school does not work, and therefore the kitchen should be extra pay for the people who would prepare the meals.
Nikšić: Fewer donations do not discourage
In Nikšić, according to data from the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, 801 families (2.426 citizens) receive MOP.
In July 2019, the non-governmental organization "Izvor života" from Nikšić opened a National Kitchen in the building of the Local Community Center II, in "Novaka Ramova" Street, and the premises were given to them free of charge by the Municipality of Nikšić.
From then until now, according to the words Konstantine Vojinović, they prepared more than 400.000 meals, and since the beginning of this year about 32.000.
"On a daily basis, 270 meals are prepared, and sometimes it is even 250. The number of users increased significantly during the Corona period. "We have the most users in the winter period, while there are fewer of them from May to the end of September, because we try to employ some of the users, thanks to our friends who run restaurants and facilities on the coast," said Vojinović.
He states that, for the most part, it is the same users, although they also have a certain number of them who occasionally come for meals.
"These are usually elderly people who receive someone else's care and disability benefits, pensioners with the lowest incomes, who are also sick, single people, multi-member families who are in a state of social need. We also have a certain number of users who are addicted to alcohol and psychoactive substances," said Vojinović.
Seven volunteers work in the kitchen, and, as she said, this year is much more difficult for them than the previous one, when it comes to procuring food, because the number of donations is lower.
"It is probably due to all the circumstances in the country. I think it's time for the state to take responsibility as far as soup kitchens are concerned. I believe that all non-governmental organizations in Montenegro have proven that the need for soup kitchens really exists and that they are a solution for a certain number of people who are in constant social need", said the director of the NGO "Izvor života".
As she said, in addition to the meals they prepare for the beneficiaries, the national kitchen also delivers humanitarian packages (food and hygiene packages) to 30 families every month. We are talking about families who live in places that are far from the city and who are not able to come for a meal every day.
Bijelo Polje: Without soup kitchens in religious communities, there would be a lot of hungry people
If there were no soup kitchens at the Spraska Orthodox Church Municipality, the Islamic Community and the Hilal humanitarian fund, there would be at least 250 hungry people in Bijelo Polje.
Up to 120 hot meals are served daily from the "Mileva Vojvodić" National Kitchen in Bijelo Polje.
The "Meal for All" kitchen from the same municipality prepares up to 80 meals, depending on needs. In addition, only the humanitarian fund Hilal distributes packages to 50 families on a monthly basis.
According to official data, 398 families in that city, i.e. a total of 1.309 people from Bjelopolje, receive social welfare.
The community kitchen of the Serbian Orthodox Church Municipality of Bijelo Polje (SPCO) "Mileva Vojvodić" in the last five years of its existence has distributed more than 100.000 meals, as well as hundreds of one-time aid packages.
The kitchen, as Archpriest Stavrofor said Darko Pejic, works in a rented space, which makes her work difficult considering that nearly 13.000 euros have been spent so far just for the lease, and the entire work depends on the good will of donors.
"Recently, the SPCO launched an action to collect aid for the construction of the Home of Miroslav's Gospel, next to the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, within which a soup kitchen would work, which would make its work much easier, especially since the needs of our fellow citizens are much greater than what we can offer," he said.
The national kitchen "Mileva Vojvodić" delivers from 80 to 120 meals every day, depending on the season, and the number is smaller in the summer, when part of the population goes to the villages, and young people go to work in coastal and other cities.
"From 20 to 25 thousand meals are delivered annually. In addition, we have between 90 and 120 families, who live in remote villages of Bijelo Polje, who three times a year receive packages of basic foodstuffs in the form of one-time aid, which, in addition to Bijelo Polje, they also distribute to several families in Mojkovac. This aid is distributed to families who are far from the city, where the delivery of daily meals would significantly increase the cost of transportation, which would be unsustainable," explained Pejić.
Two years after this soup kitchen, a soup kitchen "Meals for all" was established in Bijelo Polje at the Islamic community - Džemat Potkrajci, which delivers daily meals to socially vulnerable, emaciated and elderly people as well as children without parents.
"Every day we distribute 40 to 60 meals to around 30 families. So far, a total of around 45.000 meals have been distributed. At the moment, we do not have a large capacity, and in addition to the permanent 40, there are still as many applicants for the kitchen, but unfortunately, due to the capacity, we are currently unable to prepare and deliver hot meals for all those interested," he said. Aldin Pilavac, founder of the kitchen and president of the Potkrajci Mosque Board.
The congregation organized several gift distributions and Eid lunches for institutions for children with special needs, never bypassing the beneficiaries of the Old People's Home in Bijelo Polje.
Many are not ready to beg for a bite
Reminding that the people around us are starving and that there is an illusion that there is no hunger, the assistant to the head of the Islamic community in Montenegro and the chief imam in Bijelo Polje Enis Efendija Burdžović says that there is talk about standards and quality of life, but quietly, out of reach of the public, many people are starving.
"Should we call ourselves people, and the people around us are starving", he asked.
According to Effendi Burdžović, many are ready to "rather die of hunger than of humiliation and the decision to beg for a bite to eat."
"That's why there is an illusion in the public that there is no hunger. But the religious communities are more often in contact with the people and know how severe this problem is. For many years, the Hilal Humanitarian Fund, in addition to providing aid, has been trying to record and have data on families with weaker financial conditions, paying attention to the degree of vulnerability. I believe that as a society we cannot boast of civilizational aspirations, if the weakest among us are the most strongly neglected. Whether it was a certain humanitarian food bank, or some other form, whatever, it is shameful that we are aware that there is hunger around us, but we do not react", said Burdžović.
The humanitarian fund Hilal, which was founded in 2012, within the Islamic community of Bijelo Polje, plays an irreplaceable role in helping the socially vulnerable in Bijelo Polje.
As the deputy president of that humanitarian fund said Nusret Erović, the organization has several lines of action, from helping families with basic foodstuffs, the sick for treatment, helping rural households through the donation of livestock or the construction of stables, student scholarships, to helping single parents and orphaned children.
"Through the annual aid plan, the Hilal Fund helps more than 50 families a month in regular or occasional form of aid. Help is delivered to the cities of the north of Montenegro, as well as Podgorica and Bar. We pay special attention to the elderly and infirm and single mothers. In this part, we provide firewood as well as monthly stipends for orphans, 46 of them. 17 families received five square meters of wood for the winter last year. This year, we had 10 students from various fields who received a monthly stipend in the amount of 80 to 250 euros per person. "Special help was expressed during the religious holidays of Ramadan and Eid al-Adha, where more than 200 families were helped with basic food items in a period of a few days," Erović said.
In addition to delivering food packages for the most vulnerable, the Hilal Fund delivers food to the public kitchen "Zene Bar" and the public kitchen Merhamet from Rožaj.
"With this approach, we want help to reach the right addresses and its beneficiaries," Erović said.
If sometimes it is better to teach a man to fish, than to give him the fish, Hilal helped several households by buying agricultural machines and cows.
In Rasovo, near Bijelo Polje, the construction of the Hilal Humanitarian Center, at the Islamic Community, with an area of 509 square meters, is in progress, which will serve for the centralization of all activities, better updating of data, as well as a place where additional help will be provided according to needs.
The public kitchen "Zene Bar" was founded more than four years ago. On a daily basis, they prepare 250 hot meals for fellow citizens who are on the edge of existence, for the exhausted, sick... In the last year alone, the "Bar Women" prepared more than 61.000 cooked meals.
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