01 July 2009, Guide magazine

 HRH PRINCESS KATHERINE KARAĐORĐEVIĆ

SUPPORTING SOCIETY

 "The Greek people have been extremely generous and have gone out of their way to help the Serbian people through these difficult times"

From left to right: Vice President Joseph Biden, HRH Crown Princess Katherine, Dr. Jill Biden, PhD and HRH Crown Prince Alexander I 

As if Serbia and Greece didn't already have enough shared ties to bind them, there is also a royal connection, with the wife of Serbia's Crown Prince Alexander hailing from Greece.

More than simply being a Greek lady living in Belgrade, through her Princess Katherine Foundation, she has proved greatly influential in channeling humanitarian donations from Greece to Serbia and assisting the development of business between the two countries' companies.

■ Serbia and Greece have enjoyed many years of friendship in many fields. It is said that this is not only about religion and geography, but also similar mentalities and life views. As a Greek lady who has lived in Belgrade for quite some time, how would you explain the roots and reasons for this closeness?

□ We have always been close, since we have so much in common and there are more things that unite us than divide us. We all live in the same region and have similar interests. I am very proud of my Greek heritage and that of my husband's

Greek grandmother Aspasia Manos, the wife of King Alexander of the Hellenes.

■ It is common knowledge that Greeks have donated a lot of funds to Serbia, particularly in the last decade. Some donations were made by the Greek government, others by businesses and others by philanthropic well-wishers and most of them were achieved thanks to your personal engagement. How would you sum up these activities and the process of turning goodwill into tangible funds that are able to help those in need?

□ The Greek people have been extremely generous and have gone out of their way to help the Serbian people through these difficult times and this is something that the Serbian people will always be grateful for and will never forget.

■ What are the most important humanitarian projects that your foundation runs from your personal perspective and why?

□ I have been involved with humanitarian work practically all my life. Му parents have always been big philanthropists and my father was awarded last уеаг at the age of 93 by the Greek Government for his philanthropic and social support of Greece .Му foundation in Serbia  in conjunction with our offices abroad of Lifeline Humanitarian Organization (New York, Chicago, Toronto, London and Athens), of which I am patron  is working hard to deal with so many demands and situations we face in Serbia. One of the projects was connected to the fact that Serbia has one of the highest mortality rates of new born babies. Responding to that, my foundation launched the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) project dedicated to purchasing the necessary equipment,

such as incubators, to save the lives of premature babies. That was one of our priorities for the last two years and in that period we managed to equip intensive care units in the four major Clinical Centres in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Niš and Kragujevac as well as sixteen regional hospitals throughout Serbia. The success of this project was thanks to the generosity of our friends and donors, who responded so well. At charity events we organized in Athens, followed by Paris and the United States, more than a million Euros was raised. We have also started a safe delivery project with the aim of helping women in Serbia to have more babies by equipping the balance of hospitals in Serbia. We are also helping children with congenital heart disease and are outfitting a new surgery unit at the Children's Hospital in Tiršova Street in Belgrade.

One of our major projects has been women's health, since Serbia, sadly, has the highest incidence of breast and cervical cancer in Europe. Following the visit of our friend Ambassador Nancy Brinker, founder of the Suzan G Komen for the Cure Foundation, we established a plan of collaboration in Serbia. Му husband and I were the guests of Ambassador Brinker in Washington DC last month, were we had the pleasure of attending a private dinner with her at the residence of U.S. Vice President Biden and his lovely wife Dr Jill Biden, who are big supporters of the fight against breast cancer. The next day we joined supporters and survivors at the traditional Race for the Cure on the Mali, where a marathon gathered more than 50,000 people for the fight against breast cancer. It was extremely moving and a privilege to be given the opportunity to give a speech to so many people. I will never forget this magnificent event that drew so many people for this very important cause. The Susan G Komen Foundation did an amazing job.

In Serbia my foundation established a Women's Health Initiative under my patronage with the participation of the Ministry of Health and oncology doctors from throughout the country. The initiative's aim is to raise awareness about women's health issues and the problems they are facing with breast and cervical cancer. Helping women to combat cancer in our country is one of my priorities. I am very proud that at the time of this interview my foundation is delivering a state of the art mobile mammography unit that is traveling around southern Serbian, starting in Niš. This unit was made possible thanks to the generous donation of the Niarchos Foundation and it is worth over €700,000.

I feel very fortunate to my husband for bringing me to this wonderful country

 ■ What criteria do you seek when deciding about a donation and supporting a specific cause?

□ We have the Royal Medical Board that consists of Serbia's top physicians from different fields of medicine and during the meetings we take priorities, issues and projects. Many people are asking me for assistance and I try to help them all as much as possible. I learned about the јоу of giving from an early age and happiness is when you give of yourself. Life is short but we have strength and time to help others  only then life is more meaningful and satisfying.

■ Do you maintain regular contacts with individuals and organizations that donate?

□ It is important to maintain good contacts in order to have successful and fulfilling relationships. There are many individuals and organizations in Serbia and abroad that have been supporting our work for many years and my husband and I appreciate that very much.

■ What are your plans for the coming pe­riod and can you tell us about апу ongoing projects?

□ In September we are organizing the Second International Conference on Breast Cancer together with Professor Dr Hedvig Hricak, Head of Radiology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York, and our Ministry of Health, Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia.

We will continue with the educational programmes we started between our hos­pitals and Sloan Kettering Hospital, where we managed to provide training for our medical staff. In October is International Day Against Cancer, so we are going to organize events that will be dedicated to the awareness campaign. I must point out that prevention is very important. I appeal to all women to have medical checkups regularly, and I appeal to the media to рау more attention to this issue. Educating doctors is also crucial for the early detection and treatment of this disease.

■ How do you feel in Belgrade and what, if anything, would you bring from Greece if you could?

□ I feel very fortunate to my husband for bringing me to this wonderful country and to such great people, giving me the opportunity to help people and to save lives. I feel extremely blessed and I ргау that God will give us the strength to continue. Both countries have their charm.

■What are your favourite destinations in Greece and Serbia?

□ The Greek islands and the mountains of Serbia.

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