The first week of October is traditionally dedicated to the celebration of Children’s Sunday, which this year is celebrated in Sarajevo Canton under the slogan “Let’s support the family for a happy childhood”.
On this occasion, the Ministry of Labour, Social Policy, Displaced Persons and Refugees of Sarajevo Canton is implementing a series of activities aimed at improving the position of children and supporting families. The focus of this year’s activities is financial support for children from families that are at risk of separation, with the aim of preventing family separation and providing support when they need it most.
The support will be realized through a public call, while the JU “Cantonal Center for Social Work” Sarajevo will play an important role in the process of assessing the needs of families. Social protection services, which operate as part of the Center, will assess the need for additional financial support for families with children based on information from the field, expert assessments and opinions of expert teams.
“Support to families at risk of separation is not only material aid. We want to send a message that these families are not alone and that as a society we recognize their needs and want to be with them when they need support the most,” said the Ministry of Labour, Social Policy, Displaced Persons and Refugees of the KS.
The director of the “Cantonal Center for Social Work” Sarajevo Draženka Osmanaspahić points out that the Center’s expert teams, through direct work with families, will play an important role in identifying the needs of children and families who need support.
“The Sarajevo Cantonal Center for Social Work, in cooperation with the social protection services of the Sarajevo Canton, plays an important role in the implementation of this activity. Based on direct work with families and expert assessment, our teams recognize families and children who need additional support in order to prevent the risk of children being separated from their families. Experiences from last year show that this support had positive effects on the quality of life of children and the position of families. The funds enabled families to respond to the most important needs of children, alleviate the financial burden and create better conditions for their proper growth, development and education. This measure is important because it shows that support for the family can be concrete and timely. When we help the family when they are facing difficulties, we simultaneously protect the child and create better conditions for him to grow up in his family environment,” said Osmanspahić.
The Ministry says that the family is the first place where a child gains a sense of security, belonging and love.
For this reason, they say, support for the family is also support for the child, especially in situations when the family is facing difficulties that may threaten its stability.
“This year’s Children’s Sunday is an opportunity to remind once again that caring for children is not only an obligation of institutions, but a joint responsibility of the entire society. When we support the family, we directly support the child,” concluded the Ministry of Labour, Social Policy, Displaced Persons and Refugees of the Sarajevo Canton, as reported by the KS Protocol and Press Service.
