Help People with Intellectual Disabilities -Serbia

As you know, one of KEC’s main missions is finding employment for people with intellectual and mental disabilities. KEC aims to place each of our beneficiaries in an engaging and dynamic work environment. Through the years we have developed remarkably fruitful relationships with many local companies, institutions and organizations. On-boarding and supporting employees with special needs is not always an easy process but our partners are as committed as we are to giving each individual a chance to contribute to her society.

One of our most successful partnerships has been with the Hyatt Hotel of Belgrade. KEC first started collaboration with the international hotel in the early 2000s and the relationship has continued to grow in the decades that followed. When we first worked together on the Hyatt’s Christmas tree decoration program, we had no idea how this relationship would develop. Then we were given a bare tree and our beneficiaries decked it out with creative decorations. Today decades later, two KEC beneficiaries, Kaca and Jelena, are employed at the Hyatt, Hyatt employees volunteer in our center and Hyatt International even recognized this powerful relationship with one of it is community grants. At one point, 8 KEC beneficiaries were engaged in various tasks at the hotel through our work engagement program. In 2020, Kaca and Jelena met all the criteria and were hired as full-fledged hotel employees. KEC is grateful to Hyatt for its partnership and its commitment to building stronger communities in the places where it works.

It is only with partners like Hyatt, and supporters like you, that KEC is able to able to continue its work on behalf of people with intellectual and mental disabilities.

Just like all of you, we at KEC are eager to leave our COVID induced small environments and start getting back into the larger world. Our beneficiaries and their families are impatient to once again experience the freedom of moving around and the joy and security of the KEC center. But we remain fully aware that while the crisis is hopefully ebbing we must remain vigilant in our measures.

While severe COVID restrictions were in place KEC developed an online program to work with more than 80 of our beneficiaries individually and in groups. These psycho-social activities kept us in touch with our users and allowed us to offer additional support where needed. Despite these efforts our beneficiaries really just wanted to see each other and to experience the KEC center “in real life”. Their patience has paid off.

With the lifting of restrictions we have started holding regular activities in the center except in smaller groups and for shorter time periods. Our beneficiaries are happy to be reunited with their friends and to once again be busy with KEC activities. Each day small groups of beneficiaries come to the center for two hour educational programs run by our team of professionals. 

In an effort to gradually re-open the center one of our first group activities was to take advantage of the nicer weather and organize regular walks around town. One of the most interesting of these outings was to the newly erected statue of Stefan Nemanja. This enormous statue was unveiled during the height of the restrictions so this was the first chance for most of our beneficiaries to experience it first hand.

Through this outing and others like it our beneficiaries got to see how the world changed a little while they were sheltering in place (a new statue) and how in some ways nothing had changed (KEC friends).

We at KEC hope that all of you are also once again experiencing the joys of the world that has been closed off for the past few months. We hope you get a chance to notice some of the things that have changed in the world but also appreciate the things that remained the same.

Thanks for your on-going support to our programming. Your support and good wishes have helped us endure this hard period.