The team from Sharing America’s Resources Abroad (SARA) that visited Yugoslavia September 12-20 was received with a warm and enthusiastic ecumenical spirit. SARA is a medical mission ministry of the Ohio Conference of the United Church of Christ.

The group was hosted by Bishop Istvan Csete of the Hungarian Reformed Church of Yugoslavia and the Ecumenical Humanitarian Organization.

Rev. Bill Lyons presented a $7,500 grant from the First Grace Foundation to Bishop Csete. It will be used to begin an elder care center. The Bath Church UCC, SARA, and the Amherst Congregational UCC provided funds to staff the Elderly Care Center with a part-time parish nurse.

This project will provide pastoral care, some basic health services, and limited meals to the elderly residents in and around Feketic. The team also left stethoscopes, a glucometer, and a variety of supplies and over-the-counter medications to begin this work.

The building will be renovated beginning in October. Most of the repairs are internal so the work can continue during the winter months.

In addition to surveying several local and regional clinics and a hospital, the team met with members of two associations for disabled persons. Most of the disabled people are children.

"We took him to the hospital yesterday, and they told us there was nothing they could do for him." Those tearful word were shared by Tomas’ mother. Tomas, pictured here with his mother, had eaten only a few bites in the past month—and nothing at all in over a week. His body confirmed his mother’s report.

Doctors had diagnosed him with cerebral palsy. In fact, all of the children in this association were given the same diagnosis, a fact which made Nurse Davis suspicious given the symptoms each child presented.

"That’s what they tell every parent with a child who is not normal," one man told the SARA group, who referred Tomas and his family to the medical school in Pecs for further evaluation on an urgent basis.

In Yugoslavia generally, the disabled are ignored by society and hidden by their families. SARA provided funds to help meet the needs of these children and to further their goal of becoming active participants in their communities.

Rev. Szemesi is working with the Christian Fund for the Disabled to provide additional support for these associations.

Evidence of the bitter wars and internal strife that have plagued this country were evident almost everywhere the team went. While the bridges destroyed during the 1999 NATO bombing are being reconstructed in Novi Sad, in Belgrade the empty shells of military buildings, television stations, and other NATO targets still stand as grim reminders of the terrors faced by residents.

One of the highlights of the team’s visit was a tour of the public school in Pacir. Classes are taught in both Hungarian and Ukrainian to accommodate the language difference in this town of about 3,000. The principal was eager to show off the joyous students and their new computer lab, obtained through private grants. This school visit, a first for SARA teams, was arranged by a doctor in Pacir.

At the doctor’s request, the team emphasized the need to teach students about the risks of smoking, the prevention of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, early detection of breast cancer, and the dangers of substance abuse. The principal agreed to work with local healthcare providers in establishing such a program.