Omaha daily bee., 1919-06-15
MISS CLIFFORD
TELLS OF RELIEF
WORK IN SERBIA
Daughter Of Omaha Man De-
scribes Horrible Conditions
Near Belgrade; Desolation
Past All Description.

Mr.. Dunaway. has, received let
ter from former Omaha girl, Miss
Ann Clifford. member Of the Serbian
relief committee and daughter of
DR.. and Mrs. harold Clifford, written
from Belgrade, Serbia, in which she
tells Of the conditions there. The
letter. in part, follows:
There are so many children in
Belgrade whose bare toes and hun
ger-pinched faces cry out for the
love and care of a godmother, that
it is hard for us to select. and set
apart the lucky ones for adoption by
friends in America who have re-
sponded to our appeal. But, am
sending today the photographs Of
number Of children whom we have
selected in the village of Chukaritza,
and to whom we have decided to
give this great boon of 20 cents a
day..
THE village of Chukaritza is on
the outskirts of Belgrade. on the
Sava river, just across from Aus
tria- Hungary, and every house i'll
the village seems to. have been
perfect target for the Austrian guns
during the bombardment. Scarcely
a house was, untouched, and the
greater part of them: almost COM
pletey destroyed. .
Misery Acute.
To-day, the general misery of
these. poor people who have found
their way back to their homes is
very acute. The town is frequently
surrounded by foods. 1t has been
cut off from Belgrade for the past
month; When we were finally able
to get in there we found the chill
dren going about in rags lodging
in and out of their ruined homes.
Whole families are crowded into
single room, on the side of the
house--fartfest from the river, and
having suffered the least from the
bombardment.
1.-THE stories the mothers tell are
all practically the same. The hus-
band was killed or reported missing
during the war; the mother is al
ways working up to the last ounce
of her strength, trying to earn the
bread for her family. The entire
family is always found in need OF
practically everything. Clothing is
very obvious need. The children
have forgotten what shoes were like.
At present the Red Cross is fur
nishing some food for the children
which is given out to them at the
village school. The little kiddies
60 with their plates and cups, and
then run home to share their por-
ton with their smaller brothers and
sisters or members of the families
who are too i'll to walk. What this
unhappy village will do when the
Red Cross workers leave Belgrade
is distressing to think upon.
Making Clothing.
"a workroom, has been started
for the mothers, and a limited
quantity of clothing and shoes are
in process of being made. These
will help as far as they go. but
material, particularly leather, costs
a great deal. l shall be able to tell
you more about this work little |
later on. 1t was started by Serb
ian woman who has done excellen;
work. We will probably take charge
OF it.
There are $4,000 children IN
Serbia needing help. The response
must be very prompt and generous
or few will survive. As far as the
money goes, we give to the mother |
of each child whom we adopt, S. |
per month, and. we will visit the
homes as frequently as possible.
But our limited funds make what
we can accomplish seem a mere
drop in the bucket.
Desolation Undesirable.
at is great joy to see the poor,
en7aciated little children indulge in |