A total of 174 convicted persons in the Penal Correctional Institution (PCI) in Požarevac have donated 122,000 dinars towards the treatment of sick children in Serbia, by waiving a portion of the one-time state aid of 100 Euros per citizen to help mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. It was the convicted persons in the PCI Požarevac who had the idea to donate the funds to sick children in need of financial assistance to help with their treatment.
In similar fashion in 2018, the convicted persons in the PCI in Niš – together with the PCI employees – donated funds for the procurement of a portable incubator which is crucial for the survival of new-borns.
Then, at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, some 4,700 convicted persons across the largest PCIs in the country (Sremska Mitrovica, Niš, Zabela, Pančevo and Novi Sad) forewent one dry meal a day in favour of the poorest local residents. This, too, had been the initiative of the convicted persons in question. In addition, the convicted persons in the PCIs in Sremska Mitrovica, Niš, Zabela, and the PCI for Women in Požarevac began sewing up to 6,000 protective masks daily for the respective PCIs’ employees, prisoners and detainees across all institutions, to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. This mask manufacturing has been running to date.