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Swiss PRO
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News / Success Stories

Helping families in healing against the cancer

  • Kruševac, 18 October 2019

More then 600 people being affected by malignant disease and around 1,500 family members were supported with additional health services provided by the Counselling Centre “Narcissus” established through the project implemented within the Swiss PRO Programme supported by the Swiss Government.

“I visit our Counselling Centre twice a week. When I get a smile and a nice word from the employees, I already feel better and have more energy for recovery”, says Zoran Đorđević, one of beneficiaries supported by the “Narcissus”.

The Association of Health Workers of the Rasina District has provided health services to more than 600 people being affected by malignant disease, over the last 12 months. An additional service offered by the Counselling Centre is the possibility for affected individuals to meet a trained psychologist, nutritionist, social worker and physiotherapist, who are not included into standard chemotherapy treatment in the Hospital. Also, five people finalised training to provide health support. Implementing partners were General Hospital Kruševac and Society for the Fight against Cancer - Kruševac branch.

“Cancer does not affect the actual sufferer alone, but the entire family, friends and relatives. They all would like to know what they can do to help a loved one after receiving diagnose. In this regard, the Centre also supported around 1,500 family members”, stressed Dr. Zoran Gajić, head of the Oncology Department in Kruševac Hospital.

Sustainability has been enhanced with the City of Kruševac allocation of budget funds for the continued functioning of the Counselling Centre in 2020, while other neighbouring local authorities are currently considering the best way to finance the project.

“Having in mind the fact that this type of Centre exists only in Belgrade, and that beneficiaries from the nearby municipalities Aleksandrovac, Ćićevac, Varvarin and Trstenik also use the Centre services, we can freely say that with this project we have enabled the improvement of health services at a regional level” said Sandra Gogić, President of the Association of Health Workers of Rasina District.

Within the Swiss PRO Programme the support of the Swiss Government worth 350,000 Euros was granted to 26 civil society organisations (CSOs), out of which “Narcissus” was one, for the purpose of conducting “new ideas fit for communities“, i.e. socially innovative projects designed for vulnerable groups. 

More information about all 26 supported CSO projects can be found on the Project Results Fact Sheet.