Circle of Serbian Sisters

Circle of Serbian Sisters, a famous women’s patriotic, cultural, educational and non-party association, was established in August 1903 in Belgrade. Its initiators were a famous Serbian painter, Nadežda Petrović and a writer, Branislav Nušić, who gave it its name, Kolo (the Circle). Serbian Sisters’ Circle is the precursor of numerous Serbian humanitarian organisations. The regional offices of the Circle were set up in many towns and cities.

After the 1941 occupation, the Germans banned the organisation due to its patriotic activities.  After the World War II, the communist authorities considered it the remnants of the bourgeois  society, banning the activities of all the women’s associations and confiscating their property.

In the spring of 1990, a group of women of Belgrade restored the activities of the Circle under the same principles of the pre-war organisation. The Circle members regularly visited the elderly and the sick, bringing them aid. They are especially active in taking care of the poor and vulnerable children of the former Yugoslavia regions. The Circle of Serbian Sisters is also active in the countries of the Serbian diaspora.

The Circle Statute reads: Membership of the Circle is an honour. To be a member is to do good for others. The members do not expect any fee for their work, their sole reward is a feeling that they have helped people in distress. Members of the Circle do not go in for politics. Circle of Serbian Sisters is an independent association with grounds in the sacred principles of Gospels and patriotism. They provide aid to anyone, regardless of their religion or nationality.

OUTSTANDING FIGURES

Nadežda Petrović, a painter – one of the founders. Qeen Marija Karađorđević was a sponsor of the Circle of Serbian Sisters and its generous contributor. Ljubica Luković, a chairwoman of the Circle on the eve of the World War I, died as a volunteering nurse in the Niš war hospital.