In just one month, 60 volunteers signed up to help children at the Center for the Protection of Infants, Children, and Youth in Zvecanska feel safety and belonging. Their job is to hug, understand, and be present.
Anja Cerovac came to the Center for the Protection of Infants, Children, and Youth in Zvecanska. Her student internship ended long ago, but she still comes as a volunteer.
“During my student internship, I had a favorite of my own who went for adoption; I cannot explain the feeling when you see a child for whom you know how much love they need, and they receive that love, which is the need of every child. Likewise, every day when I come here and see the smiles of these children and get a hug from a child, my heart is full, and that is the reason I am here,” says Anja Cerovac.
How to become a volunteer
More than 200 children, toys, drawings, strollers, rooms. In addition to the employees, volunteers are a significant part of these children’s lives. The youngest children and children with developmental disabilities stay in that building, and this group is precisely the one in need of the most support.
“The first step is contacting us via email to express interest; some call by phone and we direct them to email, then we send them an application form, they fill it out, and based on the application form we check how well it fits our needs,” explains Ljubisa Jovanovic, deputy director of the Center for the Protection of Infants, Children, and Youth.
One volunteer – one child
The new plan is for each volunteer to spend time with one child. For at least a year, once a week. The idea is to help children, who see many people daily but actually belong to no one, create a sense of love and security.
“When we think about how every child should have someone of their own, we think that a volunteer should be one of the important people in our children’s lives. One of the most natural things is that each of us has a need for belonging, to belong to someone, to have someone of their own; so besides us being a replacement family for the children, when you expand the support network—and volunteers are a form of support network—you make the life of every child happier,” says Ljubica Bzenic, a pedagogue.
Last month alone, 60 volunteers reached out. The job is not difficult. Besides a little time, it involves—love, a hug, and support.