“Walk a Mile for a Smile,” a traditional humanitarian walk organized by Prima International School, was held today. Tickets for this event are provided by purchasing a t-shirt, and the sales revenue will support the Novak Djokovic Foundation’s mission—that every child in Serbia has a place in kindergarten by 2030.
The traditional humanitarian walk “Walk a Mile for a Smile” continued this year in the organization of Prima International School, and the Novak Djokovic Foundation joined its realization for the sixth time in a row.
This year’s walk was started by Serbian Olympian Zorana Arunović, winner of the most brilliant awards in archery; national director of the Novak Djokovic Foundation, Maja Kremić and director of Prima International School, Brigitte Macintosh. They were followed by more than 400 people, who bought a T-shirt worth 1,000 RSD and secured their position on the starting line.
The Novak Đoković Foundation dedicated all proceeds from the sale of T-shirts to a special purpose: equipping a kindergarten in Viča, a small town in the municipality of Lučani, in which the little ones now for the first time have a space where they can learn and socialize until they go to school. New furniture, didactic materials, books, and toys for two kindergarten groups will delight 25 children from Viča, who themselves took part in the walk today with their director, and provide them with quality conditions for education and early development.
“We are happy to organize this wonderful event for the sixth time with our friends from Prima International School. Today, the children from Viča are with us, who will have kindergarten for the first time and get everything they need to learn and grow up carefree,” said Maja Kremić, national director of the Novak Djokovic Foundation.
“This is the jubilee 10th Walk a Mile for a Smile organized by PRIMA International School. We are especially happy that through working with children and parents from all over the world we have the opportunity to improve the educational conditions of our children in Serbia, and in this way to show care for the community of which we are an inseparable part”, said Brigitte Macintosh, director of Prima International School.
“Today is a special day for me. I am primarily happy to be part of the Walk for a Smile event. Together with the children and educators of the village of Viče in the municipality of Lucani, I am filled with good impressions and hereby express my great gratitude to the Novak Đoković Foundation for recognizing a better way of kindergarten life in the village of Viča”, said the director of the kindergarten in Viča, Gordana Miličević.
In addition to the one-mile-long walk, i.e., three laps around the soccer field of the Prima International School, a variety of entertainment programs and content for children were organized, including folklore, a ballet performance, scientific development and encouragement workshops, face painting, and a performance by the Vreme čuda band, at the end of this wonderful family day.
For the previous five walks, 23,000 euros were raised, helping over 1,500 children.
Photo: Dalibor Danilović