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On 29th February 2008,
BELhospice and Hospices of Hope
organised a joint event for guests
coming from Serbia, England, America and
Romania. The event was a ride on Tito’s famous ‘Blue Train’. The
train journey took the guests up to the
famous Serbian mountain resort of
Zlatibor where they spent a
day enjoying the scenery and beauty. The
weekend was an opportunity to raise
much-needed funds for BELhospice’s work
with terminally ill patients, but also
promoting the concept of palliative care
in Serbia as a vital and valuable form
of care for dying cancer patients.
During the travel on the Blue Train,
guests were able to watch the newly
released DVD about the Romanian Hospice
Casa Sperantei. This hospice
specifically helps patients suffering
from cancers, and other life-limiting
and terminal illnesses. The Hospice was
recently designated as a ‘Centre of
Excellence’ for South-Eastern Europe.
This hospice has set the highest
standards in palliative care and
palliative care training in the region.
Hospice Casa Sperantei is funded by the UK
charity, Hospices of Hope, whose Serbian
partner is BELhospice. Dr Natasa
Milicevic talked about BELhospice’s
activities and the problems encountered
when providing a hospice service. She
also presented plans to build the first
hospice in Serbia, similar to Hospice
Casa Sperantei in Romania. In doing so,
Serbia will no longer be one of the few
remaining countries in Europe that still
does not have an in-patient unit for
dying patients. All the guests fully
supported the work and intentions of
BELhospice to continue with this aim.
The guests had an opportunity on the
train to enjoy traditional, tasty food
alongside stories about Tito, his
train and a history of the Balkans. Andrew
Bache CMG, former British Ambassador in
several European countries and president
of Hospices of Hope, gave a stimulating
talk about the history of Balkans
describing the situation in old
Yugoslavia before WWII, the rise of Tito
and the course of WWII in Yugoslavia.
The Railway Company, gave an interesting
presentation about the Blue Train and
gave an insight into Tito’s voyages and
the various guests he hosted.
On the return to Belgrade, the guests
enjoyed a tour to the Royal Compound
visiting the White Palace and Old King
Palace in which His Majesty Crown Prince
Aleksandar Karadjordjevic lives with his
family.
We would like to express our gratitude to
all our guests from Serbia and abroad
who took part in this event and
supported our work in provding the best
possible hospice care service to
patients and their families. We also
thank our supporters: Glaxo Smith
Kline, Coca Cola Hellenic and Sanofi
Aventis. Finally, we thank the Railway
Company and ZelTourist who made the trip
enjoyable for all aboard.
All the funds we raised during this
event will be used for further
development of BELhospice’s work in
caring for terminally ill patients.
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