[photo] Mother's Village near Medjugorje is one of the orphanages that the federation government refuses to support
Mother’s Village and other orphanages close to Medjugorje are being left to themselves as federation government refuses to fund the homes and kindergartens. The refusal sparks strong criticism from Medjugorje priest Fr. Svetozar Kraljevic who says the government is insensitive to the needs of children, and ignorant of investing in the next generation.
The homes for orphans and abandoned children in and around Medjugorje are struggling to raise the funds they need to continue. And they should not look to the government for help.
A proposal to set aside 100,000 Bosnian Marks (65,000 dollar) for the orphanages in 2012 has been turned down by the government of the Federation of Bosnia and Hercegovina, one of the two political entities that make up the country by the same name. The proposal was put forth by the conservative party HDZ BiH, but was not adopted by the ruling coalition, local news portal Brotnjo Online reports.
Medjugorje priest Fr. Svetozar Kraljevic is very disappointed. He has been the director of Mother’s Village near Medjugorje for 11 years since the death of its founder, Fr. Slavko Barbaric:
“I am sorry that the state did not recognize the needs of these institutions who have difficult conditions for their work. This was the government’s examination of conscience in acting responsibly with the money entrusted to them. What we see appears to be a general insensitivity to the needs of these children, and I consider it necessary to educate politicians and economists on this issue” Fr. Svetozar tells Brotnjo Online.
“We have, for example, sought help from (supermarket chain) Konzum and we got a payment of 150 Bosnian Marks. This is an indication of where we are, where we live, and how ignorant we are about investing in young people who will pay us back as much as we gave when they needed it the most. I am very sorry that the present neglect leaves the nursing homes and kindergartens alone. The government must be fair to these institutions because they are measurers of the health of a society” Fr. Svetozar Kraljevic says.
