Rita Plotnikova, in Belgrade
Every Monday, Dr Lazar Paskuli goes along to the local cultural club in the Belgrade district of Zemun. Since he retired in 1995, this 72-year-old Red Cross volunteer comes to meet his elderly patients, to measure their blood pressure and to talk.
"As long as I come here - there is order in the Universe," Dr Paskuli says. "I do not believe in any medicines more than in the natural ones. And often a good philosophical chat can be a remedy, especially for such illnesses as old age and loneliness."
As Balkan countries grapple with the transition to market economies, social insecurity is growing, especially for the elderly. The number of people over the age of 65 accounts for 15.7 per cent of the population of Serbia and Montenegro.
The latest study on the socio-economic status of pensioners in Serbia conducted by the national Institute of Economics in 2001 concluded that 59.5 per cent of pensioners are living below the poverty line, 52 per cent of them do not have enough money to buy food. 6.4 per cent of them are disabled and 47 per cent live with chronic illnesses, often unable to afford basic medicines.
Although the Serbian Government is developing its Poverty Reduction Strategy, it is still unable to meet all the social needs, leaving entire groups of population neglected in their disability, old age or poverty.
In 2001, the Red Cross re-launched its Home Care programme aimed at supporting the poorest and weakest of the senior citizens through its volunteer network. One such is Slavka Sermats.
Every day, she looks out across Belgrade from her tiny room on the eighth floor of a grey skyscraper in the city suburbs, probably thinking that out of two million people living in the Serbian capital, hardly anybody knows - or even cares - about her existence.
Slavka cannot go out and make new contacts: She is 75 and has serious health problems. She once had a family and two children, but she has not seen any of them since they fled to other countries 13 years ago.
Slavka receives her pension of 50 euros a month. "I always pay the rent first, even though there is almost no money left after that," she says. Bread and some milk make up her daily ration. Asked what is the hardest part in your life, she is confused: "My age. My pension." And then, after a pause, "I am alone."
Nothing seems to bother her any more. Yes, she would like a little increase in her pension. But for that she needs to appear in person at the local authorities, which she cannot do due to her painful legs. The heating in winter is bad, but she does not mind - she has her jacket and an extra blanket. And she insists that winter is better than hot, dusty summer when it is difficult to stay in an apartment exposed to the sun all day long.
There are only two people that give her the will to live: Zhivka, her neighbour, and Jelica from the Red Cross, who comes to visit her once a week. Jelica is a lively woman almost of the same age as Slavka "I would come to see her anyway," she says. "But with the Red Cross I can do much more, including bringing some extra food and simple home care tools that the local branch provides. I appreciate the feeling of being useful."
The Red Cross in Yugoslavia re-launched its Home Care programme in 2001 when the burden of distributing international humanitarian aid decreased, making it possible for the Red Cross to boost its traditional services and volunteer networks in the communities. Since then 77 - or nearly half - of the Red Cross branches in Serbia and Montenegro are actively participating in the programme.
"During the last year our bicycles and a little transport vehicle became instantly recognisable in our town as well as the young volunteers who love to wear their uniform when going on home visits," says Tania Gluscevic, a Red Cross programme co-ordinator from Vrbas, in the northern province of Vojvodina.
"Monitoring blood pressure, conversation, buying groceries, reading newspapers - these are the little services we offer that bring pleasure to dozens of people who once lived and worked with dignity, but now feel abandoned and forgotten," she continues.
She adds that there is also sad side to her work: "Each month we have to pay our respects to at least one of the people we meet on our home visits. Hopefully we have succeeded in making their final months as comfortable as possible."
By the end of 2002, the number of people benefiting from Red Cross home care services in Serbia and Montenegro had nearly doubled to 8,740. Some 1,696 volunteers were trained by the Red Cross to implement this work.
"The steady increase in beneficiaries shows not only the demand for such services in society," says Sally St Lewis, International Federation Health and Care Delegate in Belgrade, "but also the ability of the Red Cross to provide them to people unable to take care of themselves due to old age, disability and loneliness."
International funds from the Federation and the Spanish Red Cross have helped to boost the programme, but now it is vital to find new ways to cooperate with the state. "Based on voluntary work, the programme is cost effective. But funds are required for transport, equipment, training and management. The best solution would be if municipalities bought the service from the Red Cross," St Lewis said.
The overall economical, social and political situation in the country is far from stable, which has an inevitable impact on the sustainability of all non-profit enterprises, including humanitarian activities. Current legislation not only discourages local donations but actively punishes them by taxing them like on any commercial transaction.
As economic and social development allows people to grow older, leaving fewer working men and women to support them, less money will be collected for public budgets on which health care depends.
Today the Serbian Finance Minister declares that an ageing population will be one of the main challenges in the next few years. But, far away from state policies, Dr Lazar goes out on his weekly visits to meet his patients and friends in the social club, and hundreds of Red Cross volunteers set out to support those unable to leave their homes. And they all believe that with their work they also help to keep order in the Universe.
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