Results for children - 2021

What we achieved for children with the help of our donors

Dječak Mateo

2021 has proved to be even more challenging than 2020. We are therefore immensely grateful for your support in providing timely support to the children who need it most.  

We continue to be in the field with children affected by earthquakes, provide psychosocial support in schools and ensure the continuity of therapies and services for children with disabilities and their families. We are also proud of our youth programs, which enable young people to develop entrepreneurial and other skills needed to be ready for the bright future ahead.

Some of our highlight achievements are listed below, while the detailed Report on 2021 Activities can be accessed here (Croatian only).

Support for children with disabilities

  • Five inclusive cabinets have been equipped at universities in Zagreb, Split, Osijek, Pula, and Rijeka. In inclusive cabinets, 1,500 educators and 1,500 primary school teachers will be educated annually.
  • We provided the necessary knowledge and skills for 106 university professors at five universities and issued manuals and curricula for educators.
  • As part of the UNICEF Assisted Communication Program as a method of early intervention for children with developmental disabilities, a university textbook has been created that is free and available to all professionals.
  • The total value of this two-year program is 1,240,825 kuna. 
Eva na poligonu u vrtiću
Hegedić/UNICEF

Earthquakes crisis response

  • In Sisak-Moslavina County, UNICEF provided 13.5 tons of tarpaulins worth 350,000 kunas.
  • Four mobile teams of experts were organized to provide psychosocial support to children growing up in at-risk families, for which 501,189 kuna was provided.
  • We helped fifty-one families by donating home appliances, and to children from 28 families by providing school and sports equipment, we provided tablets to attend classes and internet access for students living in remote areas.
  • Two office containers for the work of the pediatrician and the patronage service were provided, four containers for storage of medical equipment in Sisak, and one container for the needs of the library in Petrinja.
  • 542,000 kuna worth of hygiene supplies were distributed to kindergartens, schools and health care institutions.
  • Through the "Support Schools" program, we provide psychosocial support to teachers and students of primary and secondary schools. Education has been provided, and a manual of workshops is available free of charge. A total of 257,638 kunas was invested in this program.
Rezultati - potresi
Knežević Barišić/UNICEF

Empowering children and youth

  • 144 high school students from all over Croatia participated in the summer school "Innovation Academy" where they learned about robotics, and developed computer, entrepreneurial, and other 21st-century skills.
  • The 13th Children's Rights Festival brought together 28,000 children and young people from across the country. This year, too, all the facilities were adapted to children and young people with impaired vision and hearing.
  • Young people from 19 counties participated in UPSHIFT workshops where they acquired new knowledge and developed skills for analyzing and solving specific problems and designed as many as 54 projects aimed at improving their local communities. The best teams were given the opportunity to put their idea into action, for which UNICEF provided 315,000 kunas and mentoring support.
UPSHIFT radionica u Oroslavju
Mesek/UNICEF

We take care of our health together

  • UNICEF donated three respirators and rapid antigen and PCR tests worth a total of almost 1.2 million kuna.
  • For 392 premature and seriously ill babies, milk from other mothers was provided from the Human Milk Bank, which is both food and medicine for babies.
Novoređenče banka mlijeka
Kljajo/UNICEF
The human milk bank has become a reality thanks to the generous legacy donation of Mrs. Heda Dubac Šohaj, who left a better future for the children of Croatia. The generosity of Mrs. Heda Dubac Šohaj will help generations of children yet to come. For more information on legacy donation, please contact Nina Eleta-Kanceljak, +385 1 3031640.

Supporting children in difficult circumstances

  • Through the "For a Stronger Family" program, we have worked a lot in recent years to support foster families, as well as to strengthen professionals in the system who care for children without adequate parental care.
  • In order to support the efforts to raise as few children as possible in institutions, to increase the number of foster parents and to provide better support to foster families, the program "There is happiness for everybody!" Was launched in Split-Dalmatia County for which we provided 86,900 kunas.
Zdravlje 2021
Ilej/UNICEF

Solidarity with children across the world

  • The School for Africa program, which promotes solidarity and respect for children's rights, brings together 61,820 children and young people from all counties, is carried out with the great involvement of 3250 educators, teachers, and professional associates in schools who do this important work on a voluntary basis.
  • Thanks to your support, we have provided 1,130,160 kunas to help children outside Croatia, especially children at risk of various crisis situations, such as the long-standing conflicts in Yemen and the devastating earthquake in Haiti.
Škole za Afriku 2022.
Hövener/UNICEF

Child Guarantee

  • In cooperation with experts, a program to support parents "Growing up together plus" adapted to Roma families was developed. While the parents are at their workshop, the children participate in a workshop for the children.
  • A mobile team was organized with the aim of timely identification of children with disabilities. Last year, the program covered 515 children and provided 1,188 different support services.
  • Play centers in Mala Subotica, Kuršanec, and Orehovica have been equipped to ensure that children participate in informal activities that help their development.
  • All activities of the Child Guarantee program are funded by the European Union.
Jamstvo za svako dijete - Centar za igru u Držimurcu Strelcu
Soldo/UNICEF
Sara s loptom na senzornoj terapiji