Scriptures bring smiles to Croatia’s
sick and orphaned children

ZAGREB, Croatia — More than 1,000 children in orphanages and hospitals across the country were overjoyed to receive Scriptures last Christmas through a special distribution project organised by the Croatian Bible Society (CrBS). The distribution was so successful that the Bible Society is planning similar projects for the future.

War

Tens of thousands of children were maimed, orphaned and traumatised during the war in the early nineties and many are now living in orphanages and children’s homes. Although staff and volunteers do their best to give them a happy childhood, the children are still haunted by memories of the atrocities they witnessed.

The CrBS visited several of these homes, talking to the children about Jesus and handing out copies of the Children’s Bible, Scripture colouring books and Bible Comics.

“The children’s faces lit up with joy at these unexpected Christmas presents and many immediately asked for pencils and paints to colour in the pictures in the colouring books,” one Bible Society staff member described. Others held their gifts close or began reading the stories.

“With your gifts you showed our children that, as well as the bad and painful things they experienced before coming to this home, there is also goodness, sympathy, humanity and love in the world,” Nikola Havlicek, warden of SOS Kinderdorf in Lekenik, told the Bible Society visitors.

Family unit

This home, which cares for 95 children, was set up in 1993 and is part of SOS Kinderdorf International – a large non-governmental organisation based in Austria. Fifteen SOS ‘mothers’ are responsible for the children’s upbringing, assisted by seven SOS ‘aunts’, including the village director, a teaching assistant and a psychologist. The whole village operates as a family unit.

Staff at St Joseph’s Home were also grateful for the Bible Society Scriptures.

“We will use these words and pictures to teach the children about Christ’s love for us,” said Sister Catherine. “This is so important for these children because God is their only comfort.”

The Bible Society also distributed Scriptures to young cancer patients in the Klaieva Children’s Hospital and the Šalata Clinical Hospital, as well as to disabled children and children at the Centre for Autism.

Plans are already under way for another distribution project this Christmas, this time to children in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Local churches will visit children’s hospital wards and orphanages there and hand out 1,200 Children’s Bibles and 4,800 Scripture colouring books.

Next year, the Bible Society is planning a distribution to Croatian children, this time focusing on those suffering from other major diseases.

“Croatia is a poor country and often cannot afford to provide proper medical care. Also, in this post-war, post-communist time, there are a number of changes taking place in our health system,” explained Damir Lipovšek, CrBS General Secretary. “For these reasons, children suffering from chronic diseases are in a very difficult situation.