In 2003 Red Cross of Serbia has carried on with one of the most important activities it has been implementing with in the previous year, the Home Care Programme. Since May 2002, the programme has been financially co-supported by Spanish Red Cross with funds provided by Spanish Agency for International Co-operation and Spanish Government. The needs for this programme are great because of the very pronounced trend of population ageing: based on census from 1991, people above 60 years of age comprise 15.7% of the whole population and it is estimated that this percentage will rise to 19% by 2011. The programme was started in January 2002, following the pilot project in six municipalities in Vojvodina in 2001. Based on the work of volunteers who have decided to dedicate part of their free time to humanitarian activity, this programme has by the end of 2002 been started in 69 municipalities on the territory of Serbia and since 01/05/03 this number has risen to 80.
More than eight thousand elderly people who are lonely, whose health is weak, whose savings are negligible, who have no close relatives and have great social needs are being assisted by more than 1500 volunteers of Red Cross municipal branches. New context and new situations for our whole society also mean that there is a need for Red Cross to adapt its activities to befit them. Therefore, programmes based on distributing material assistance that are by their nature expensive and dependant on external donations, are being replaced by cost effective, efficient, flexible programmes whose main resources are human: volunteers, persons ready to invest their energy, enthusiasm and capacities in helping their neighbours to live a life of higher dignity and quality.
What volunteers of this programme offer to their beneficiaries includes: help with personal and home hygiene, help with acquisition and preparing of food, help with keeping records and planning the expenses, help with contacting medical and other institutions and services, help and advices related to health food and healthy life styles, they offer support and encouragement... In Belgrade, as part of the programme there is a special telephone number (183-744) meant for elderly, lonely citizens to ask for help, advice and liason with municipal branches who implement the programme.
Supported by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and Spanish Red Cross, Red Cross of Serbia has provided the necessary training to volunteers, using the services of experts in social care, medicine and psychology. As well, the basic equipment for RC branches has been provided, enabling them to offer higher quality of assistance to beneficiaries (orthopaedic utilities, massaging devices, bedsore prevention equipment, blood pressure measuring devices)Spanish Red Cross has also pirchased 10,384 adult diapers for programme beneficiaries. For the two branches that have demonstrated the best results in the implementation of the programme (Šabac and Kragujevac), Spanish Red Cross has financed the purchase of two vans with hidraulic lifts, specially designed for transportation of people with moving disabilities, which will improve the quality of services in these two municipalities. So far, 24 training seminars have been organised and 10 new ones are planned for 2003.
Experiences of other National Societies with this kind of programmes have been invaluable in creating the programme up to current international standards. Red Cross does not attempt to take on the duties of the government and its services, this programme is a complementary activity that takes some burden the government, helps save some funds, which in turn helps raise the quality of care for people to a higher level, as well as to increase the number of people who are being supported.
