DIVISION OF HUMANITARIAN PACKAGES ONLY ACCORDING TO CRITERIA
5.11.2013
Irregularities and abuses in the distribution of social aid packages to vulnerable residents in the rural area of Nis, in some municipalities, prompted the president of municipality of Palilula, Boban Dzunic, to hold a meeting with the presidents of the Citizens Council of 15 villages in the Palilula Municipality. In the presence of Stojan Prokopović, Secretary of Red Cross in Nis, representatives of the Councils of these settlements are introduced with the criteria that interested people should meet to be eligible for humanitarian assistance. In the next seven days, lists of vulnerable municipality residents will be completed and submitted to the Red Cross, and the division of packages is expected at 19th of November.
"In order that we would not repeat some of the mistakes that have occurred in other urban municipalities, we organized a meeting with representatives of the Council of citizens from rural areas of our community. Secretary of the Red Cross acquainted us with the criteria upon which the lists are made, in order to prevent abuse. In addition , I appeal to the conscience of our citizens that this activity includes those of our fellow citizens who really need help - pointed out president of Municipality of Palilula Boban Džunić, and noted that there is no limit to the number of packages that will be distributed.
President Džunić recalled the fact that a large number of residents of Palilula is living on the line of poverty, and that from the total number of people that reported to the Centre for Social Work, more than 67 percent is from Palilula. He pointed out that the beginning date of the division of packages is moved in order to minimize the errors. People from the Municipality of Palilula found on the list for packages must meet the following criteria: they must have a permanent residence, or at least one year of residence reported in Palilula, they must belong to the category of elderly, sick and disabled people who do not have relatives who could provide help, they must be eligible to receive the allowance for assistance and care of another person, and to belong to a family whose income is below the threshold for getting cash welfare, but for some reason did not exercise this right, and they must be unemployed.
According to the Secretary of the Red Cross , so far the humanitarian aid arrived in Nis and is distributed in 18 villages It is divided into 36 tons of food for about 640 packages, which included 2115 household members. Humanitarian packages, which is designed for socially most vulnerable population in rural areas, are basic groceries with eight food items: flour, beans, rice, pasta, oil, canned vegetables, luncheon meat and dried vegetables (spices). We decided, in agreement with our donors that the packages with basic groceries to be distributed among people who live in rural areas, because poverty is spreading in villages even more, said Stojan Prokopovic. Besides that, it is often that rural people do not have the right to exercise social assistance , because they have an ownership of agricultural property, which they can not tend because they are old. Assistance to the population in the past period mostly affected the residents of the city. (ЕКОполис,Д.В )