Director of the Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija (KiM) Marko Djuric visited the soup kitchen in the village of Prekovce, municipality of Novo Brdo in Kosovo-Metohija (KiM), to mark the holiday of Orthodox Christmas on Wednesday.

In the soup kitchen that distributes nearly 1 million meals annually, Djuric reminded Serbian citizens that solidarity with Serbs in the southern Serbian province of Kosovo-Metohija is still necessary.

He noted that the Serbian government donated RSD 14 million last year for soup kitchens, adding that financial support would be provided this year as well.

The fight for our rights is necessary and it needs to include everyone, not just the people in KiM but also citizens in entire Serbia, Djuric said and added that unity and solidarity are the key words for Christmas 2015.

He noted that Serbs in KiM are using soup kitchens not because they are lazy or do not know how to work, but because they are forced to it, because they were robbed off their property, their factories were closed down and they themselves were banished from their homes.

The Diocese of Raska-Prizren and the Serbian government will stand by their people at all times in 2015 too, Djuric noted and underscored that the warehouses of soup kitchens in Kosovo will never be empty.

There are six soup kitchens in KiM and they provide meals for around 2,000 poorest citizens and around 100 children from two primary schools thanks to the help of Majka Devet Jugovica NGO headed by Svetlana Stevic.

Stevic said that the soup kitchens are very important for the survival of Serbs, especially in the area of the Kosovo Morava region and Metohija.

As far as soup kitchen supplies go, Stevic noted that the situation is very difficult and that flour and beans supplies are sufficient to last just until the end of January.

The soup kitchen in the village of Prekovce near Novo Brdo provides food for 830 socially vulnerable citizens. The Serbian government released earlier that it would set aside additional RSD 18 million this year for the needs of soup kitchens under the auspices of the Diocese of Raska-Prizren and Majka Devet Jugovica NGO.