Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia has spoken of her passion for humanitarian work in a newly published interview with the Serbian newspaper “Politika”. She also touches on why it is so important to her to put her efforts towards strengthening the Serbian health system.
Her Royal Highness says: “When the conflict in former Yugoslavia began, I felt the desire and will of the Serbian diaspora to help their compatriots, so I opened the first Lifeline office in Chicago, and our friends from the diaspora immediately came to help with all their hearts. All the benefactors have done so much by helping the work of Lifeline’s offices in Chicago, New York, Toronto, London and Athens, as well as the work of my Foundation in Belgrade, which was founded immediately after our arrival in Serbia in 2001. Only united are we strong enough to provide support and comfort. Only unity saves Serbs”.
Her Royal Highness has been helping the health care and social protection system in Serbia for almost three decades. So far, donations worth millions of euro have helped more than 250 different projects. However, that has also led to some attacks, some from those opposed to the Serbian royal household.
The Crown Princess therefore emphasized that her wish is only to give something to the Serbian people.
Crown Princess Kathrine states: “We came to Serbia to give, not to take and we were delighted to continue our work and our mission we were doing while living abroad. I was inspired and set on this life-long journey by my parents, who were great humanitarians and philanthropists in Greece. At an early age they taught me that there is no greater joy in life than the joy of giving and I learned by their own example”.
The Crown Princess also emphasizes that her desire to give was further strengthened after she married into the Serbian royal family. She married Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia in 1985 and together they have fought for progress in Serbia after the fall of communism, which had almost cracked the country’s economy.
Her Royal Highness says: “I got even more inspiration when I met and married my husband Crown Prince Alexander. Seeing the great love which he has for his nation inspired me to focus humanitarian activities on the people we admire and respect, the same nation I fell in love immediately”.
