On 7th January, Orthodox Christmas day, the Children's Embassy for Children of the World organized a Christmas lunch for around 500 children from all over Macedonia in Prilep. And Food Bank Montenegro provided a festive meal for around 200 people in economic need.

Holidays are a time of generosity and kindness. A less subtle reminder of the holidays is also a nice, festive meal. This is why we ought to remember that there are those who might not be able to celebrate the holidays as they would like to, and perhaps find an opportunity to share with them a festive meal. 

Children’s Embassy for Children of the World (Детска Амбасада за Сите Деца во Светот) organized a traditional Christmas lunch for the 13th time this year and brought together 500 children from across Macedonia.This includes children without parents, children of war veterans, children with developmental disabilities, children with cerebral paralysis, children with autism as well as children that received awards from the state and those who are active members of the Children's Embassy for All Children in the World.

Apart from being a festive event, the lunch is also an opportunity to teach children from different backgrounds the importance of respect and tolerance in a multicultural society.

From 2006 this event hosted over 4.000 children from from Prilep, Skopje, Bitola, Tetovo, Kumanovo, Strumica, Gostivar, Kavadarci, Resen, Veles, Stip, Ohrid, Struga and other towns and settlements from the Republic of Macedonia. As in previous years, the young guests also received presents at the event.

And for organizations, such as the Food Bank of Montenegro (Banka hrane Crne Gore) which regularly provides food for people in need, a Christmas lunch is a particularly important way of marking the holidays, but also demonstrating the importance of work that is done throughout the year. This year, the 50 families with 200 members received a special

“We are proud of this initiative which is now becoming traditional, and we are very thankful to chef Zarko for his help in making it all happen. We at the Food Bank are fortunate to have created a chain of kindness which consists of people willing to help people in need throughout the year, and not only for the holidays. However this is still not enough, as there are a lot of poor people. We have to have a state-level, better organized and systemic support for people who need our help on a daily basis”, reads the statement form the Food Bank.