Some good news, for a change....


Article Last Updated: 7/28/2006 03:39 AM
NBA all-stars help needy Serbs
Fremont fundraiser will buy medical equipment
By Angela Woodall, STAFF WRITERInside Bay Area
FREMONT — Some of Serbia's hospitals still are struggling to get the medical equipment they need, more than a decade after warfare tore Yugoslavia apart.
That is why the Niles Rotary Club is lending a helping hand by hosting the Majestic Evening of Hope fundraiser today at the Fremont Marriott.
The club is getting a boost from some high-profile figures: NBA all-stars Peja Stojakovic and Vlade Divac; Kenneth Behring, founder of Blackhawk and the Wheelchair Foundation; and Prince Alexander and Princess Katherine of Serbia, whose titles are honorary....
Serbs are trying to cope with a frail, cash-strapped health system in which much of the medical equipment is either broken or decades old. Wheelchairs in particular are "desperately needed," said the Serbian government's coordinator for humanitarian aid.
Fremont is home to a Serbian Orthodox monastery and there are sizable Serb communities in Northern California, including Sacramento.
The two have founded charities aimed at helping needy children in their former homeland, the Group Seven Children's Foundation and the Predrag Stojakovic Children's Foundation.
The princess said all of her country's ethnic and religious groups will benefit from the equipment that the fundraiser will make accessible to Serbian hospitals.
"I believe we are all God's children. This planet is very small," she said.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/dailyreview/localnews/ci_4106920