Help People with Intellectual Disabilities -Serbia

Summer is here! For most of us this season evokes happy memories. Memories of time spent away from home, school, stress and the iconic family vacation! The family vacation means exploring new places, learning new skills, experiencing new cuisine and languages. Let’s be honest there are also the less romantic aspects like being stuck in the backseat of the car with annoying siblings on the long drive to that destination. But when we look back at the photos or recall the memories we remember the good things. How we learned to swim in that glistening cove with our dad bobbing up and down a few meters away encouraging us to go a bit further. Or, the first time we saw an ancient building that we had learned about in school. In hindsight even the long rides with the annoying siblings are remembered fondly. Maybe you are even reading this in one of these coves or in one of those small cobbled-stoned towns with an ancient building in the square.

As the summer progressed, the KEC center grew quieter. Beneficiaries with families left for holidays, while those without family remained behind. It was then we realized: some of our young people had never experienced a vacation. Not once. No long drives, no salty sea air, no ancient landmarks seen in person. So we set out to give them that experience.

We secured passports, obtained suitcases, recruited chaperones, and planned a trip. Djulja, Anica, Marija, and Zorka boarded a bus to a seaside town near Thessaloniki, Greece—for their first-ever family vacation. After the long hot bus ride (some parts of the family vacation can’t be spared) they entered the small rented apartment, opened the window to see a tiny dot of the sea in the distance and filled their lungs with their first breath of sea air. They spent the next ten days tasting new foods, exploring new sites, learning new skills and generally just taking in the pleasures of the family vacation. Marija learned to swim, Djulja used foreign currency for the first time, Zorka tried her first shellfish and Anica went to services in a Greek church.

Even while abroad, they stayed connected—calling into KEC programming each afternoon, sharing stories, and reminding us all that family is something we build together.

Your support to KEC helped make this possible. You didn't just fund a trip—you filled a lifelong gap. For these young women, it wasn’t a luxury. It was a moment of healing, joy, and belonging.

From all of us at KEC, thank you for helping us create a family that extends beyond the center's walls.

We hope your summer has been filled with the same warmth and connection you’ve helped bring to others.

KEC strives to assist each individual to be their best self, so that their lives are as meaningful and active as possible. To achieve this we need to truly get to know our beneficiaries and find the unique way to support each of them. In the past few months with the support and encouragement of the KEC staff, Milan Perisic has attained his dream to bring his poetry to the world.

Milan was born in Vladin Han in 1985 and moved to Belgrade in the early 2000s to attend a vocational school. At some point a friend of his brought him to the KEC center. With KEC he found a family to make up for the one he left behind in southern Serbia. For several years now he has employed through KEC sponsored work program doing cleaning for a private company. When he is not working or hanging out at KEC Milan realized that the best way for him to spend his free time and to cope with his emotions was by channeling them through poetry. With the notepad app on his phone he is able to capture his positive energy and transform negative feelings into positive ones. “I like to drive away bad energy with good deeds, to be a kind person and to help others. Maybe I have empty pockets but my heart is big. I am grateful to God for showing me love. He holds my hand so I do not fall for bad influences”, says Milan in his authentic lyrical manner. He encourages his fellow people with special needs “to never give up on their wishes and dreams.”

As Milan’s notepad got thicker and thicker with more and more poems. And as he talked with the KEC staff about his desire to share these personal verses with the public we started to consider how we could help him achieve this. First we helped him get some of his works included in an anthology of poems entitled Try and Walk in My Shoes. In addition to including his works in this publication we Milan and the other KEC beneficiaries participated in promotional events around Serbia for the anthology. Not only did these events validate Milan’s artistic voice but also inspired his fellow participants, who saw in his achievement a reflection of their own creative potential.

The ultimate realization of Milan’s dream happened on February 14, 2025, when KEC held a launch party for Milan Perisic’s Paint Myself in Sunshine at the Hyatt Hotel’s Ellington Bar. In conjunction with our partners, the Hyatt Hotel and HAJR, KEC published Milan’s book of more than 80 poems about love, friendship, dreams and light. According to Milan, “replacing bad energy with good things like poetry gives [him] wings to face the future.” The program began with Milan reading selected pieces from his book, after which fellow beneficiaries from the KEC center took turns reciting his poems and unveiling original artworks inspired by his verses. The amazing evening was topped off with a surprise appearance by Ivana Elektra. The pop star, a favorite among KEC beneficiaries, performed a few adaptations of Milan’s poems and her own works while KEC participants and the audience danced with delight. Milan signed copies of the book and spoke with the media ensuring that his story reached a wider public.

Initiatives like these demonstrate the deep impact KEC’s work has on our community. By giving each beneficiary the special attention they need we are able to help each one find their own voice and realize their own dreams. This work is only possible with the continued support of our friends around the world. So, thank you all for being part of the KEC community and for helping us to bring Milan’s inspirational ideas about love and friendship to the public.