Save Displaced Serbs is an independent, non-profit organization, whose main goal is to provide humanitarian assistance to the Serbian war victims in former Yugoslavia.  We are a registered California humanitarian organization, and all your contributions are fully tax-deductible (EIN# 95-4624917).

Since 1993, thousands of orphans in former Yugoslavia have received financial assistance through this humanitarian program.  It has been administered by a small group of devoted people in Chicago and Los Angeles, who volunteer their time and personally bear most of the administrative cost.

In November 1993, when the program was created by Mr. Veljko Miljus, 19 orphans from Krnjak county received the aid.  The program has increased dramatically, and, at its peak, for several quarters in 1998, 1999, and 2000, we collected and distributed over $100,000 per quarter to the children and their families.  However, there are many more children who desperately need help.  We have detailed information on over 10,000 orphans.

From 1994 through 2001, every three months, our representative traveled to former Yugoslavia at his or her personal expense to deliver this aid.  The financial aid was delivered to mothers or guardians of children throughout Serbian Republic, Serbia, and Montenegro.  It was delivered in the amount that was donated, in US dollars, in open meetings and in presence of county, Serbian church, and our representatives. 

Starting in 2002, we decided that we can no longer afford to travel for weeks all around the country with tens of thousands of dollars in briefcases.  This may have been the only way during times of war and hyper-inflation, but it could not continue.  We were very fortunate to find excellent representatives in the Serbian lands,  the humanitarian organization "Nasa Srbija," www.nasasrbija.org, an outstanding group of Serbian patriots that has a program much like ours.  The money is wired to "Nasa Srbija," converted to local currency, and postal money orders are sent to the recipients.  The total cost of all transactions (currency conversion, money orders) is approximately 3% of the total amount.  Considering that most families had to travel to regional centers in order to receive cash donations in the past, we believe that this is a small price to pay for extending the life of the program that is the sole means of support for many of these families.  Both the dinar in Serbia, and the marka in Srpska are fully convertible and have been remarkably stable since the democratic transitions; should this change, we will reconsider our options and make the choice in the best interest of the recipients.

All children (and their parents/guardians) who receive help have an obligation to write directly to their sponsors and to confirm that they received the money.

Every day we receive pleas for help from children and their mothers or guardians.  Many of them live in collective refugee centers, where often more than 10 people share one room, and receive only one meal a day.  We are working hard on collecting enough money, so that we'll be able to reach every child without one or both parents.  Since we are presently not achieving that goal, we give priority to families with two or more children.  We have a mother with eleven children in Knezevo, a father with seven children, and many mothers or guardians with four or five children.  We try to send at least $50 to these families every three months.  In addition, we give priority for financial assistance to those who live in collective centers, and to families with sick children.

Those who need assistance are made aware of the service of our organization through the humanitarian organizations in Yugoslavia and Republika Srpska, such as: Red Cross, Circles of Serbian Sisters within the Serbian Orthodox Church, other humanitarian organizations on the territory, and the families who have already received assistance from our organization recommend to us other families in need.

The amount of money that we collect is very small compared to the need of the families with children who lost one or both parents in the war.  With the amount that we collect we are trying to assist the maximum number of the needy.  In order to do this we all work as volunteers, and we bear most of the cost of running the program.  Involved volunteers pay for expenses, such as travel, telephone, fax, printing material, etc.  No one receives a salary or any kind of compensation.