Help People with Intellectual Disabilities -Serbia

Generally summer in Belgrade is hot and humid. This year it was very hot and very humid. As the heat rises many of the city’s inhabitants escape to the sea or the mountains. But for the majority of KEC’s beneficiaries this is not possible. They do not have the financial means to do so or the support needed to travel with their loved ones with special needs. So as the heat rises Belgrade seems even further from the sea, further from the mountains, further from relief from the heat for most of our beneficiaries. 

For this reason KEC goes to great lengths to remain open all summer, despite staff vacations and the heat. Ensuring that the beneficiaries have a place to spend part of each long hot summer day is important. Most of the summer the KEC programming was like any other time of year. But, there were a few special days when we managed to organize trips out of the center. Some of these trips were walks down to the riverbank a few minutes from the center. Others were to parks on the other side of town. But the really special ones were outside of Belgrade. The really special ones meant a bus ride to new places and new experiences. And the really really special ones were the ones that included the best method for melting the summer heat– an ice cream. 

With help from our community of donors, KEC continues to fill the warm days and the cold days with meaningful and valuable programming for people with special needs in Belgrade. And an occassional ice cream to cope with all weather.  

As we have said many times in this space, KEC is committed to being part of the larger community. In addition, we are always looking for ways to expose our beneficiaries to cultural events and happenings around the city. This time we went a step further and brought the community and the cultural events to KEC.

It is hard being a young musician in Belgrade. You want a chance to share your art with the public but there is never enough room to practice. You can fight for practice space at the university, beg the old music school to let you use their concert hall, maybe if you have the nicest neighbors in the world practice at home (but who has a home big enough to squeeze in a whole orchestra). This was the Belgrade Youth Orchestra’s problem.

When KEC heard about this situation, we welcomed conductor Vuk Volkov Popovic and his orchestra (all students at the Belgrade Faculty of Music) to use our facility to practice. For many months after the KEC beneficiaries went home the musicians piled into our space. After months of this arrangement, we decided it was time for both sides to meet.  

One afternoon the KEC beneficiaries preformed a new play with jokes, dances, songs and original poetry for the musicians, our parents and friends of the organization. And, the Belgrade Youth Orchestra prepared a concert for us (Sibelius, Vivaldi, and Bartok).

The afternoon was full of amazing music, smiles, and hopefully new friendships. What was especially meaningful, however, was the interaction that everyone had over cookies and drinks after the event. The beneficiaries had a chance to talk to the young music students, take photos with them and ask questions about their instruments. The horn was particularly fascinating! Each musician also left with a small token of our appreciation. The experience was one-of-a-kind and extremely meaningful to everyone who attended.

We wish our young musician friends all the best in their careers and hope they will come back again for another afternoon of music. KEC’s cooperation with the Belgrade Youth Orchestra, is one more example of its ongoing commitment to finding creative ways to achieve a more inclusive society.

We are deeply grateful for all your continued support that allows us to provide an inspirational and comforting haven for our beneficiaries.