28 March 2022 - Red Cross Croatia said on Monday that it had raised more than HRK 1.8 million for Ukrainian refugees staying in Croatia to procure goods other than standard humanitarian aid, such as medical food, bed linen, footwear and the like, and which is currently received by 3,279 refugees.

The appeal for assistance to Ukrainian refugees is still underway and everyone wishing to help can do so by making a payment into the following drawing account:

IBAN: HR0923600001503056530
Authorisation code: 705
Bank: Zagrebačka banka d.d., Zagreb, Trg bana J. Jelačića 10
Recipient: Hrvatski Crveni križ, Ulica Crvenog križa 14-16, Zagreb
For payments from abroad: BIC (SWIFT) code: ZABAHR2XXXX

Donations may also be made via mobile banking applications by using the 2D barcode as well as by dialling the donation number 060 9011.

HCK notes that it continues to collect material donations and that anyone wishing to make a donation can find the list of goods for donation at www.hck.hr.

So far, 6,187 Ukrainians have approached the Red Cross search service to help them re-establish contact with their family members.  

Red Cross aid in the form of food, hygiene and children's products is currently received by 3,279 persons, that is, all the persons who have sought it.

Red Cross also provides psychosocial support to the refugees, as well as help with integration, school enrollment, health protection, language learning, etc. 

ZAGREB, 16 March 2022 - Caritas Croatia has raised HRK 2.5 million for the Ukraine war victims and is currently collecting material relief, the charity said on Wednesday.

There have been about 44,000 calls to a donation line and Caritas will forward all the money raised to Ukraine.

People may bring their material relief donations to Caritas warehouses or parishes.

All the necessary information is available on the charity's website.

Caritas also said that it was participating in providing for and ensuring psychosocial assistance to Ukraine refugees in cooperation with local Croatian Red Cross and Civil Protection branches.

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ZAGREB, 27 Feb 2022 - A reception centre for Ukrainian refugees has been set up in a sports hall in Osijek which can provide temporary accommodation for 300 persons, local Civil Protection services said.

The centre is intended for refugees arriving in the five Slavonia counties, Osijek-Baranja County deputy prefect Mato Lukić said on Sunday, adding that beds were set up in the sports hall and that meals will be provided today if necessary.

He said talks were under way with hotels and motels in the Osijek area for the provision of more permanent accommodation.

Lukić said one Ukrainian family arrived at the reception centre this morning to apply for refugee status, after which it found private accommodation in Vukovar-Srijem County.

Osijek Deputy Mayor Dragan Vulin said that, if necessary, buses would go to the Hungarian and Serbian borders to bring Ukrainian refugees to the reception centre in Osijek.

The director of the Osijek city branch of the Red Cross, Martina Hećimović, said search teams were ready for the registration of refugees as were psychosocial assistance teams.

She said many citizens were contacting the Red Cross to express their willingness to accommodate refugees.

For more on the Ukraine crisis and Croatia, as well as breaking news, follow our news section.

ZAGREB, 19 Dec, 2021 - The Red Cross Croatia on Sunday started distributing 800 Christmas gifts for children from earthquake-affected and destitute families in Sisak-Moslavina County.

The campaign, launched ahead of the coming holidays and the first anniversary of a strong earthquake that hit the central region of Banovina on 29 December 2020, started on Sunday in Sisak and will continue in the coming days in Petrinja, Glina and Hrvatska Kostajnica.

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ZAGREB, 5 Dec, 2021 - Volunteers from the Sisak-Moslavina County branch of the Croatian Red Cross were presented with certificates of acknowledgement for helping earthquake victims at a ceremony in the central town of Glina on Sunday on the occasion of International Volunteer Day, which is observed on 5 December. 

Croatian Red Cross Director Robert Markt said that all people helping those in need should be honoured on International Volunteer Day.

Over 5,000 volunteers contributed through local Red Cross organisations to help people in Sisak-Moslavina County affected by last year's earthquakes and the coronavirus pandemic, and 300 of the most deserving of them have now been formally acknowledged for their contribution, Markt said, noting that many ordinary people, acting on their own initiative, had also lent a helping hand.

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ZAGREB, 2 April, 2021 - Two grant agreements worth HRK 6.7 million were handed over in Petrinja on Friday for projects by the local development agency PETRA and the Red Cross office in Sisak.

Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy Minister Josip Aladrović said that the first agreement was financed with EU funds in the amount of HRK 2.5 million and was intended for the establishment of a centre for social entrepreneurship in Petrinja.

The other grant agreement, worth close to HRK 4.2 million, is intended to help alleviate poverty in the region of Banovina and northern Croatia, through donations of food and/or basic material assistance.

Attending the ceremony at which the grant agreements were handed over were also War Veterans Minister Tomo Medved, who heads the task force dealing with the aftermath of the 29 December earthquake in Sisak-Moslavina County, and local officials.

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ZAGREB, 1 April, 2021 - War Veterans Minister Tomo Medved, who heads the task force dealing with the aftermath of the 29 December earthquake in Sisak-Moslavina County, has said that local communities could take over, through local hospitality service providers, the preparation of meals for people affected by the quake.

This past weekend the Croatian Red Cross (HCK) distributed 21,000 tonnes of food, 14,000 warm meals and 5,675 litres of water, Medved said at a government session on Thursday.

He said that local government units had been suggested to take over, if possible, through local providers of hospitality services, the preparation of meals, which would help local employers and enable employment of local workers.

Medved noted that the state would continue to pay for the meals as long as necessary.

He added that water in the entire area was safe for consumption and that the HCK and the Croatian Firefighters Association were working on pumping out and rehabilitating wells, with 63 wells having been pumped out and 42 rehabilitated.

The local water supply network is being reconstructed and a new network of arterial water mains is being built, he said.

"Requests have been submitted for the removal of 560 buildings and 6,447 requests have been submitted for renovation work," Medved said speaking about the situation three months since the 6.2 magnitude earthquake.

So far, 1,805 housing containers and small houses have been installed and 2,141 have been connected to the power grid.

Five new mobile network stations have been installed to improve mobile signal strength.

By 28 March, 37,954 facilities were inspected, and of them 4,602 were found to be unfit to live in, 8,180 were found to need repair work and 25,000 were found to be fit to live in, Medved said.

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ZAGREB, 26 February, 2021 - The Red Cross Croatia has so far paid 80% of the HRK 51 million raised as earthquake relief to 31,835 households whose properties were damaged.

HCK executive president Robert Markt told a news conference in Petrinja on Friday that the Red Cross had started distributing aid to the owners of damaged properties in Sisak-Moslavina, Karlovac and Zagreb counties.

Over the past three weeks, 34,580 claims for financial aid have been submitted and another 354 are being checked for compliance with the set requirements, he said.

Single-person households to receive HRK 900, others HRK 1,900

Markt went on to say that 10,039 claims for aid had been submitted by single-person households, which would each receive HRK 900 (€119), while 21,796 had been submitted by households with more than one member, and they would each be given HRK 1,900 (€251).

"We had expected that we would be able to help every household more significantly, but the unexpectedly large number of claims has determined the final value of grants," said Markt.

He added that 80% of the funds raised had already been paid into the earthquake victims' bank accounts and that Croatian Post would deliver the remaining ones to earthquake victims in the next few days.

"That way we have done everything we have announced and promised," he said.

He noted that the amount of grants was not conditional on the degree of property damage, announcing that the funds to be collected subsequently would be distributed in line with the same model or would be donated for the renovation of kindergartens, depending on the amount raised.

Markt thanked all citizens and companies in the country and abroad for helping the Red Cross raise more than HRK 51 million.

Of that amount, 1.7 million was donated by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and national Red Cross organisations.

Markt stressed that the Red Cross toll-free phone line would be open until March 28 and that more donations were expected.

ZAGREB, 20 February, 2021 - Red Cross Croatia executive president Robert Markt said on Friday that the Red Cross had so far raised HRK 48.6 million (close to €6.4 million) for victims of the 29 December earthquake and that one-off allowances would be paid to all citizens whose properties were damaged. 

The citizens whose damaged properties are located in Sisak-Moslavina, Zagreb and Karlovac counties were able to submit their applications for aid by February 19. So far, 19,000 applications have been received.

In an interview with Nova TV, Markt said the Red Cross would wait for applications that had been sent by post to process them as well.

He explained that the two main criteria for aid were that the applicant had permanent or temporary residence in the earthquake-hit area on 29 December and that they had proof of the damage caused to their property.

Markt could not say how much the one-off allowance would amount to, noting that it would depend on the number of applicants. He added, however, that it would be different for single-person households and families.

Markt also said that the campaign to raise money for the earthquake victims would last until the end of March.

He stressed that donations continued arriving to the earthquake-hit area.

"We are glad that Croatian and international companies keep contacting us with offers and donations," he said.

January 29, 2021 - As a global and socially responsible company that actively participates in the local community's life, to help the earthquake-affected areas, Samsung Electronics Adriatic donated 150,000 kunas to the Croatian Red Cross.

Due to the strong earthquake that hit Banovina at the end of 2020, including the towns of Petrinja, Sisak, and Glina and the surrounding area, many lost their homes and property. A month after the 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit Sisak-Moslavina County, donations do not stop coming from all sides. Samsung Electronics Adriatic also decided to make a contribution and, together with its employees, made a financial donation to the Croatian Red Cross to help earthquake-affected areas.

Samsung responded to the Red Cross's appeal with this donation to help the residents of the affected areas, to provide them with the necessary assistance and decent living conditions.

"As an international company that actively participates in the daily life of the local community, Samsung has decided to donate 150,000 kunas to the Croatian Red Cross, which is currently working on collecting humanitarian aid, so that all affected citizens get the help they need. An additional contribution to this donation was provided by the company's employees, who donated their own funds. At Samsung Electronics Adriatic, we think globally and act locally," said the newly elected President of Samsung Electronics Adriatic Hyoung Min. Park.

Samsung Electronics Adriatic operates in eight countries in the region. These include Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, and Northern Macedonia. It sets new standards in the world of televisions, smartphones, wearables, tablets, digital home devices, network systems, as well as solutions in the areas of memory, LSI systems, and LED devices.

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