The Princess Royal has visited the Service for accommodation of children in need of the Cantonal Disciplinary Centre for Minors, formerly known as the drop-in centre for street involved children, which provides support to the children living and working in the streets of Sarajevo. The centre was established by Save the Children in 2008, and subsequently incorporated into the social protection system of Sarajevo Canton in 2012.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Save the Children works on establishing and strengthening community based services to support street involved children. Save the Children has helped to establish six such centres in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The drop-in centres are safe havens for street involved children, where they receive assistance and support to meet their basic needs – such as food, daily shelter, hygiene and clean clothes, individual psycho-social support and time and space for play and education.
The Princess Royal toured the Drop-in Centre meeting children and staff.
Speaking at the conclusion of the visit, Country Director, Andrea Zeravcic, said:
“The visit by Her Royal Highness is a huge boost, not only for the staff, but to the children, to show them that we are here for the long term. When we mark the tragic 20th anniversary of Srebrenica genocide, it is important to remind ourselves that the consequences of the past still strongly affect the youngest generation, who hadn’t even been born at the time. We need to work together to make sure that this is not the case for the future generations. We are grateful to the Princess Royal for taking time to be with us today,” concluded Ms. Zeravcic.
The Princess Royal, has been the President of Save the Children since 1970. Save the Children has been present in Bosnia and Herzegovina since 1996. The Princess Royal spends a significant amount of time visiting Save the Children projects overseas and in the UK. Our mission is to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives.
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