Church Soup Kitchen in Cetinje
“In these difficult days, about 70 packages of food and hygiene products have been distributed so far through the Church soup kitchen, says Mladen Bozovic. The “Mother Elizabeth” Soup Kitchen, opened eight years ago in Cetinje by the Metropolitanante of Montenegro and the Littoral, even in the time of the pandemic of corona virus, distributes food to the needy as usual”.
According to the soup kitchen manager Mladen Boyovic, the capacity of the Kitchen is 150 meals, therefore the number of the people who get meal every day is the same. There are also people asking for single money, mostly the elders and poor families.
“They are not userс of the Soup Kitchen but they asked for our help; in these difficult days the Metropolitante has supported everyone and some 70 packages of food and hygiene products have been distributed so far,” said Blazovic for the newspaper “Dan”.
He reminded that the Soup Kitchen is on the principle of counters, where users take every day except on Sunday a cooked meal as well as bread, and as he explained, their only obligation is to bring the containers in which food is packed the next day.
The church fasting rules are obeyed, and since it is Lent, fasting meals such as beans, green beans, peas are prepared, and we have fish every Tuesday and Saturday. Thanks to donations, beside warm meals, our users often get additional food items, and occasionally second-hand clothes, shoes and hygiene packages. In addition, for this Easter, as in all previous years, in the auspices of our Metropolitante, we are preparing gift packages containing flour, oil, meat, sweets for children and other food items. We are distributing these packages not only to our customers, but to all families we think they live hard or are without livelihoods,” Bozovic points out and reminds that there are only three women working in the kitchen, chief Snezana Roganovic, chief assistant Ljilja Martinovic, and Zorica Bozovic who is in charge of delivering warm meals to the old, weak or ill Soup Kitchen users who cannot come and who are between 40 and 50; the number of those people is between 40 and 50.
Talking about donors, Bozovic especially mentioned the Glendzho family from Germany, who, he said, is a great benefactor of the Cetinje Soup Kitchen. –“The Glendzho family has been helping us by paying almost € 2,500 each month to the Laković discount for almost three years, and that amount of money we use for buying goods for our soup kitchen. These days, we have received lump sum of € 5,000 from the Glendzho family, so that, God permitting, under some difficult circumstances, we could provide food packages for soup kitchen users”, says Bozovic, adding that there are also soup kitchen donors NGOs who wanted to remain anonymous.
The Metropolitante of Montenegro and Littoral has given € 500,000 to € 700,000 annually for social benefits for the past three years, said protopresbyter Branko Vujacic, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Charity Fund “Covekoljublje” (Philathropy) of the Metropolitante of Montenegro and the Littoral for Radio Svetigora.
"Within the Humanitarian Charity Fund “Covekoljublje” there are four soup kitchens, two in the Metropolitante (Podgorica and Cetinje) and two in the Diocese of Buda and Niksic (Berane and Bijelo Polje), with 205,000 meals distributed in 2019," Vujacic said pointing out that among the many humanitarian activities of this Fund, the opening of osoup kitchens is most fruitful. He thanked all the benefactors who had supported their activity in various ways and called upon all people of good will to contribute financially and thereby help those in need, as much as they can.
Source: Metropilitante of Montenegro and the Littoral
