“When someone steals another's clothes, we call them a thief. Should we not give the same name to one who could clothe the naked and does not? The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry; the coat unused in your closet belongs to the one who needs it; the shoes rotting in your closet belong to the one who has no shoes; the money which you hoard up belongs to the poor.”

― Saint Basil the Great

The video above reports that one in ten people in Serbia live below the poverty line and over 150,000 children in Serbia lack basic everyday needs. Poverty plagues the globe and even reaches the U.S. city in which I live, but there is something about poverty in Serbia that pulls on my heart just a little bit more than poverty anywhere else in the world.

When I look at footage of poverty in Serbia, such as the footage included in the video below, I see families who share my family’s heritage, history, and story. These people look so much like my brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents—I feel close to them, even though they are strangers thousands of miles away.

I believe I am not the only Serbian-American who feels especially moved to help the needy in the land of our ancestors. For this reason, I am very grateful for the Unitas Humanitarian Fund.

The Unitas Humanitarian Fund is a bridge between those living in poverty in Serbia and Serbian-Americans, or any American for that matter, who hope to end poverty in Serbia. The organization runs an easy-to-use donation page on its website and also documents recent humanitarian  projects, disaster relief projects, and community-building projects.

Check out the above video and visit Unitas’ website to become involved!