Urgent call for action from Croatia- SOLIDARNA Foundation and Fund 5.5

IN SOLIDARITY WITH PETRINJA AND SISAK-MOSLAVINA COUNTY

In compassion and solidarity with the citizens of Petrinja and surrounding area who lost their lives and their loved ones, and were affected by today’s devastating earthquake in any way, the Fund 5.5 for Crisis Support of the SOLIDARNA Foundation, is launching an urgent donation drive for earthquake victims and damages in Petrinja and Sisak-Moslavina County (SMZ – Croatian abbreviation).

Sisak-Moslavina County is one of the poorest regions in Croatia, devastated in the war of the 1990s and chronically economically marginalized for the last 20 years. Petrinja, Glina and surrounding towns have been hit hard as have thousands of scattered rural estates and households in the area. In the midst of a pandemic, winter, the need and obligation to keep their livestock, people have nowhere to go. The goal of the 5.5 Fund and the SOLIDARNA Foundation is to provide assistance and support to our fellow citizens as soon as possible.

In just two days since the reactivation of Fund 5.5, donations from citizens and companies throughout Croatia and the world raised 5.5 million HRK, which allowed us to immediately start distributing and meeting the acute needs of the injured people in Sisak-Moslavina County.

Among the first needs we discovered in the field were boots and protective equipment that will make it easier for people in Sisak-Moslavina County to cope with winter conditions and demanding terrains. On January 11, 2021, our field partner Pero Vručinić, director of the Zamah Foundation and a dedicated field worker in Sisak-Moslavina County since the Homeland war, distributed 650 pairs of Borovo boots in Petrinja, for which 124,227.50 HRK was spent. Regular informing of the public about the situation and needs in the field mobilized Croatian emigrants employed by the German company MEWA Textil-Management, who launched a donation campaign among their colleagues that included management, and in the following week the donation of protective equipment and raincoats arrived to Glina. As an urgent need of our fellow citizens, volunteers in the field pointed out underwear on which 26,037.00 HRK from the Fund 5.5  was spent and distributed to people in need on January 8, 2021.

Thanks to the trust and generosity of more than 25,000 private and 600 corporate donors, a total of 13,691,296.33 HRK was raised in Fund 5.5 in the first three months after the earthquake. This exceptional expression of solidarity of citizens throughout Croatia and the world enabled the implementation of a comprehensive humanitarian program through three phases: (1) emergency housing and humanitarian aid, (2) support to citizens in stabilizing living conditions and (3) sustainable community building and recovery. The last three months the focus has been on housing.

In order to cover the direct costs of crisis management, the Fund 5.5. so far it has placed 3,989,480.55 HRK. The largest share of funding is directed to housing for households across the county, with an emphasis on remote rural areas and those families affected not only by the earthquake but also by long-term poverty and additional hardships, such as chronic illness, disability and social isolation. We are grateful and proud that we managed to respond to the urgent housing needs of 51 affected households from all parts of the county, including urban and rural areas of Petrinja (15), Glina (15), Sisak (7), Donji Kukuruzare (5), Dvor na Uni 4 ), Hrvatske Dubice (3), Lekenika (1) and Sunje (1).

On January 13, the first mobile homes intended for crisis housing for large families who lost their homes in the devastating earthquakes were distributed in Petrinja, Glina and Hrvatska Dubica. In the first two weeks after the earthquake, HRK 1,218,750.00 was spent on 15 fully equipped houses, and they were purchased from the domestic company DUE-DI d.o.o. The durability of the houses is up to 5 years, and they will enable people to welcome the renovation of their homes with dignity.

In Martinovići village, Municipality of Glina, on February 28, 2021, the first of 6 pre-financed houses from Fund 5.5 was presented. which will be built as part of the project SOLIDARE HOUSES FOR PEOPLE, which we designed and implemented in partnership with the civic initiative People for People and Carpentry Mandić d.o.o. from Glina, which has been engaged on a non-commercial basis and employs excellent local craftsmen and workers, and invests attention, its own materials, skills and additional work in the process. These are temporary residential buildings in accordance with the Law on Simple Buildings (detached auxiliary buildings of 25m2 or 35m2 depending on the size of the household) adapted to the terrain and the needs of users. The average price of a solidarity house for people is 85,000.00 HRK, with the additional cost of technical documentation and laying the foundation up to 20,000 HRK. The total number of solidarity houses depends on additional attachment of earmarked donations, and there is already a great demand for them among the victims, especially in rural areas where it is necessary to adapt alternative facilities to the terrain.

Sisak-Moslavina County is a poor region where for many people their cattle is their primary or only source of income. The earthquake did not only destroy their homes, it also destroyed basements, garages, barns, chicken coops, entire farms… Our fellow citizens, in addition to taking care of themselves, need help in taking care of their animals, which means long-term, sustainable survival. For that reason, in cooperation with the Zamah Foundation and the Association Dobro Dobrim – DODO, we launched the project SOLIDARITY BARNS FOR BANIJA, within which the first facility was built on March 1, 2021 in Banski Grabovac on a volunteer basis. Fund is 5.5’s goal is to build and renovate as many barns, chicken coops, and piggeries as possible, and make as many minor repairs as possible on the estates of our fellow citizens by the end of the summer.

 

Read the full report on the activities of the Fund 5.5 and the SOLIDARNA Foundation from 29 December 2020 to 29 March 2021 here, and the crisis support program and the fund distribution plan here.


Fund 5,5 has proved its efficiency earlier this year when it was the very first humanitarian effort in the country (government channels included) that set up a rapid response micro granting scheme that  provided urgent assistance to 79 most severely affected and deprived families, enabling coverage of three-months alternative housing rent and rapid repairs. Initial pool of small private donations from citizens was enriched by larger corporate donations and a valuable in-lind donation in furniture from IKEA. This time, the devastation is even heavier, local communities are much more fragile, weather conditions are bad and pandemic-related health risks continue to bi really high. We thank you for sharing and caring.

DONATING  OPTIONS:

  1. Online donations can be made at the bottom of this page
  2. PayPal donations can be made at: paypal.me/solidarna or send your donations to info@solidarna.hr
  3. Your donations are also welcome through the bank account of SOLIDARNA Foundation for Crisis Situations:

Multi-currency (EUR; USD; CHF) bank account for emergency and crisis actions at ERSTE Bank:
Account holder: SOLIDARNA zaklada za ljudska prava i solidarnost
Address: Trg kralja P. Krešimira IV br. 2, 10000 Zagreb, OIB: 77689629939
IBAN: HR2424020061500078406
Purpose: SOLIDARNO S PETRINJOM & SMZ or IN SOLIDARITY WITH PETRINJA AND SMZ
Reference number: 01-2021
Model (if needed): 00
SWIFT / BIC: ESBCHR22*
BANK NAME: Erste & Steiermärkische Bank d.d.
Bank address: Jadranski trg 3a, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia

*SWIFT/BIC number is required for international payments.

  • donations via KEKSPay app of Erste & Steiermärkische bank d.d. (no fee, app in croatian)  can be made from any location in the globe by installing the application on your phone or computer, then clicking the QR code:

All private and corporate donors that require a donation receipt for administrative or tax purpose are kindly asked to indicate so and send relevant contact information to fond5.5@solidarna.hr and will be contacted soon afterwards.

All donors that provide contact information (email address and/or smart phone number active on WhatsApp) will receive periodic updates of the outcomes of our joint effort to relieve suffering after the earthquake. We cannot prevent natural disasters, but we can influence the consequences and show that #Solidarity is our #NewNormal. Thank you for caring and sharing.


 

Select the type and purpose of the donation

50,00  100,00  200,00  300,00  500,00