District Campaign “Aid for Those Affected by the Wildfires in the Toplica Region” (2025–2026)
During the 2025/2026 Rotary year, the Rotary Club of Niš led a major district-wide humanitarian campaign to help the population affected by the wildfires in the Toplica region. The project was carried out with the support of all Rotary clubs in District 2483, while the Rotary Club of Niš coordinated the activities and delivered aid on the ground.
The campaign was organized in several phases so that it could respond to the real needs of the population during recovery. Immediately after the fires, food, water and hygiene supplies were provided for the most vulnerable families. In the next phase, animal feed was distributed, which was of great importance to households that make their living from livestock farming.
As houses and homesteads were rebuilt, the aid was extended to the purchase of basic household appliances, including stoves, refrigerators and air conditioners. The final phase of the project focused on solving the problem of water supply, so clean water tanks were purchased for the villages affected by the fires.
The particular value of this campaign lies in the fact that the aid was not a one-off, but followed the needs of the population throughout the entire recovery process. The project demonstrated the strength of the Rotary community and its ability, through joint action, to provide concrete and long-term support to people at the moments when they need it most.
Help on the Ground
In July 2025, southern Serbia was hit by large wildfires that left many families without homes and basic living conditions. In response, a district-wide humanitarian campaign was launched, in which Rotary clubs from all over District 2483 took part by paying funds into the account of the Rotary Club of Niš.
The Rotary Club of Niš and the Rotaract Club of Niš also got directly involved on the ground, helping the population on several occasions, in line with needs that changed over the course of the recovery.
The campaign was carried out through four relief deliveries. In the first, while the fires were still active and firefighting was under way, food and hygiene supplies were delivered to the most vulnerable residents. Once the situation had calmed down, the aid was extended to animal feed, in order to support the households affected by the fires.
After new houses had been built for the families, the aid was also directed at equipping them, through donations of refrigerators, stoves and air conditioners. In the final delivery, attention turned to the long-term need for a water supply, so clean water tanks were provided for the village of Dubovo, given that part of the population of this village has no access to the water mains.
This campaign showed how much we can achieve when we unite around a common goal. With the support of Rotary and Rotaract clubs and joint work on the ground, help reached the people who needed it most – because united, we can achieve so much.
