Archpriest Darko Pejić said that because of the great poverty they are faced with, the church could not wait for the state to solve this problem. "In Bijelo Polje, there are a large number of people who are on the verge of starvation and such an object was supposed to be opened earlier. The kitchen will be located in the building across the restaurant 'Durmitor', and next to the Budim-Nikšić eparchy led by Bishop Joanikije, with the help of the Montenegrin-Coast Metropolitan church, led by Metropolitan Amfilohije and Ostrog Monastery," Pejic said. Goran Drobnjak, the president of the Movement for Change, said that the situation to which the majority of Montenegrin and Bijelo Polje citizens has been led by the ruling party, unfortunately, imposes the inevitability to open the kitchen for the poor. "There are many poor citizens who can not afford even the most basic goods to their families. They are full of talks of development and the 'valorization' of everybody and everything, and people are hungry and unemployed," he said.
Last year, this party set up the so-called "bones of goodness", which showed that in Bijelo Polje there are many who are on the verge of starvation and that there is a need to open the kitchen for all citizens as soon as possible.
Considering the poor standard of living of a part of the population, the Municipal Social Council suggested that via the Red Cross, surpluses of food and consumer goods should be allocated and they should consider the possibility of opening the national cuisine.
A representative of employees retired with disabilities with minimum compensations, Marko Hajduković, said that opening the soup kitchen is extremely needed in Bijelo Polje.
"In Bijelo Polje 1,200 seniors have the lowest pension of 125 euros. Most of them support families, and they cannot buy bread or medicine," Hajdukovic said.
In Bijelo Polje there are 840 beneficiaries of material family insurance, and the children's supplement receives 1.241 children. The big problem of Bijelo polje is unemployment, which is why the town is predominant by the number of immigrants who go abroad, or to Podgorica and the coast.
When answering the question of whether Bijelo Polje needs a public soup kitchen and whether the municipality will support such an initiative, the President of Municipality Petar Smolovic responded positively.
"Every social service that is organized by the institutions and NGOs for socially disadvantaged people will be supported by the Municipality, but we will also provide financial assistance in accordance with our capabilities," Smolovic said.
Text by Jadranka Cetkovic, on September 17th, 2018, read more at Vijesti
