Life champions for champions of life – support for children without parental care

As part of the concept “Creating life champions “, which focuses on creating top people through sports, representatives of Development Center for Youth and international camp DEKI5 visited “Jovan Jovanović Zmaj” Home for children without parental care in Belgrade. On that occasion, they talked with the children about the opportunities offered through sports, but also handed over a valuable donation, intended to improve the daily life of children who grow up in this institution without parental care.

Home “Jovan Jovanović Zmaj” is one of the oldest institutions of its kind in Serbia, with a rich tradition of providing support, protection and care to children without parents or without adequate parental care. Through decades of existence, the home has become synonymous with safety, warmth and the possibility that children from the most sensitive groups get a chance for a childhood filled with care, education and hope, and therefore every kind of support is precious.

This visit is part of the project “Life Champions 3.0: every child has a right to be a champion”, which Development Center for Youth implements in cooperation with DEKI5 camp and the Academy Pandev Brera Strumica. Goal of the project is to provide support to children growing up in social welfare institutions through sports and education, enabling them to have equal access to developmental content and full inclusion in the community.

So far, this project has successfully implemented activities in North Macedonia (Strumica) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sarajevo), where educational meetings with trainers were organized, as well as emotional and inspirational visits to homes for children without parental care. All involved participants of these visits were convinced of how important it was to show care and long-term commitment to children who grow up in protection systems, and that sport was one of the mechanisms to make these little ones feel like an equal part of the society.

During the visit, representatives of Development Center for Youth and DEKI5 camp talked with the home’s expert team about the daily challenges in working with children, but also about the potential for establishing long-term cooperation through sports and educational programs provided by the concept, which would provide children with additional motivation, development of social skills and empowerment on the way to an independent life.

“The concept of life champions emphasizes that every child is a champion, regardless of the circumstances they come from. Our task as a community is to enable these children to grow, learn and dream big. With the introductory lecture, but also with the donation itself, we open the door to future cooperation, we open the door to the chance that everyone gets the right to grow into strong, empowered and successful young people – true champions of life,” said Aleksandra Knežević, program director of Development Center for Youth.

Continuation of the project envisages even more substantial cooperation through DEKI5 sports camps planned in Zlatibor during the summer months.

The project “Life Champions 3.0: every child has a right to be a champion” is implemented with the support of the UEFA Foundation for Children, with the aim of creating a more inclusive and humane society through sports.