Dear guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is my distinct honor and pleasure that the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the SOS Children's Village in the Republic of Macedonia is marked under my auspices.

At the outset, I take this opportunity to convey cordial greetings from my husband, the President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, with whose support, early in his first term, I decided to engage in activities related to our greatest and priceless treasure, our dearest and most vulnerable - the children.

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is said the family is the pillar of every society, but what about the children who do not have the luck and the opportunity to grow up in their biological families? What happens when fate plays a joke with them and they are left alone?

Children who have no family or have been rejected by their biological family do not have huge requirements to feel loved. Small treats of attention and warmth are enough for a child to feel loved.

It is in such cases that the true and irreplaceable role of the SOS Children's Village in the lives of these children is recognized. Above all, in providing a sense of belonging, protecting the children from the SOS Children's Village, in learning the values and responsibilities, creating relationships that last a lifetime, in healing emotional wounds, rejecting the sense of alienation and estrangement, but also in building confidence.

Dear guests,

Last week I had the opportunity to visit the SOS Children's Village and I realized that you have so many things to be proud of, which motivate you for further major achievements, and therefore I want to assure you that you have my full support. Once again thank you for your kind and warm hospitality. To my great delight, it was a wonderful day spent together with the team of the SOS Children's Village, the SOS families, the SOS mothers and children, who enriched the day with their appealing performance and witty lyrics in their recital.

Dear friends,

This evening, I would like to praise all of your activities and to encourage you to continue the successful work in the future, by expanding and supplementing the humane and noble mission of the SOS Children's Village for many years.

On this occasion I would like to especially salute the SOS mothers and SOS parents whose role is highly and extremely important. With their care and attention, sharing all the joys and sorrows brought by everyday life, they help the children feel the safety of a warm hearth and love of the closest, as they help them grow up and develop in a stable family environment, making them ready to face the life challenges as established, strong, independent individuals and responsible citizens.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We highly appreciate the mission of the SOS Children's Village in protecting children who are at risk and in danger of being rejected by their biological family. Besides child care, the SOS Children's Village works on prevention of the child to be rejected by its biological family. I am convinced that your efforts in this context yield positive results, for which, once again, I congratulate you.

Your organization provides support to children in the educational process, makes health care and basic health services for the sheltered children more accessible, provides social care, teaches them about their rights and fights for their rights to be respected. And, most of all, it opens the door of the sheltered children to a nicer, brighter and happier world, in which they have their family, have brothers and sisters, where they are carefree and free from the problems of the adults and of the everyday life; it opens the door to a bright and stable future in which they have the same rights and opportunities as their peers.

Dear friends,

All additional efforts of the SOS Children's Village are welcome, including the opening of the Counseling Centre for Parents and Children in Suto Orizari, which, after a year of its establishment, turned into Counseling Centre for Parents and Children at the level of the Municipality of Gazi Baba.

The role of the SOS Children's Village is huge for all sheltered children, since they leave it as independent and established personalities with values, knowledge and skills, able to live independently. However, not to encounter any major reversal or intersection in their lives, from a foster family directly to autonomy, the role of the SOS Children's Village does not end there, but continues with its support in the youth communities, and, after 18 years of age, with the semi-independent living program.

Considering that the Republic of Macedonia has been faced with one of the greatest humanitarian challenges nowadays, the migrant crisis, the SOS Children's Village expanded its work recently with children in detention centers in the border areas. Congratulations for all your engagements with children staying in the camps in Tabanovce and Bogorodica.

But this is not all; there are many things to be highlighted for the SOS Children's Village. In my opinion, even if we try to point out everything, something may be omitted because its scope of work is wide. But one thing I am certain and I must emphasize - I ask you, to greet with applause the staff and volunteers at the SOS Children's Village, and, of course, to greet all those who, from the beginnings of the SOS Children's Village, participated in building this success story.

Dear friends,

I would like to extend my gratitude, but also to call all institutions, NGOs, individuals to continue or engage and thus support the work of the Village. Therefore, on this 15th anniversary of your existence, I send cordial greetings to all former and current sheltered children and staff, volunteers, SOS parents, SOS mothers, SOS aunts, and all who directly or indirectly help the work of the SOS Children's Village.

We all have an obligation to try to make children's rights a priority; the children will pay us back if they learn to enjoy their right to a carefree childhood.

Thank you.