Belgrade, from January to March

This year, the Embassy of the Sovereign Order of Malta to the Republic of Serbia wanted to give even more attention to the children. And so, the 2016 edition of “A hot meal in a cold winter” will be aimed at children who sometimes are even in need of a simple hot meal.
Because of the number of children accommodated by institutions that offer a good service frequently exceeds the current number of beds, it often happens that children are forced to sleep on auxiliary mattresses in hallways or fail to receive proper meals.
In Belgrade, under the jurisdiction of the Secretariat for Social Welfare, there is the Shelter for Children, which provides assistance to the most vulnerable children from all over Serbia. These children are aged between 7 and 18, and are often victims of violence, abuse and neglect, victims of human trafficking, children without parental care and abandoned on the street.
The Shelter, in its 57 years of operation, has taken care of over 70,000 children. It is currently located in an inadequate place of 250 square meters with only 16 beds, despite the fact that it accommodates on average 20 to 25 children daily. It would require a new space of 400 square meters, with at least 30 beds, for proper care of the most vulnerable children in Serbia.
Meanwhile, the Embassy of the Sovereign Order of Malta will take care of the little guests of the Shelter until at least March.