Croatia

Croatia

In Croatia, The Human Safety Net cooperate with the “Growing Up Together” Centre for Parenting Support to support parents and children exposed to more demanding life circumstances, that hinder their children's development, including more than 14,000 parents and children, with further implementation of new support programs.

The cooperation between The Human Safety Net Croatia and the “Growing Up Together” Centre for Parenting Support started in 2019. The volunteers of The Human Safety Net Croatia have been involved in projects since the cooperation started. They are engaging on implementation of the “Growing Up Together” Centre workshops, the repairment of kindergartens, as well raising donations as part of The Human Safety Net Global Challenge and supporting the holding of the Festival of Play organized by the “Growing Up Together” Centre, all over Croatia. All volunteers are doing this because they want to, but even more – because they think it's right. The goal of the The Human Safety Net Croatia initiative is to actively contribute to the improvement of the communities in which it is present throughout the country.

By doing so, The Human Safety Net Croatia expands the availability of parenting support educational programs for parents of the youngest and preschool children, which are carried out in more than 30 cities across Croatia. We help parents in unfavorable circumstances realize their children's developmental potential through workshops with parents and children, educational trips, and other events in the community. Our volunteers convey the human message of our initiative and contribute to its further successful growth. We are happy that volunteers’ every day job and their volunteer work complement each other harmoniously. 

The program

Rastimo zajedno (“Growing Up Together” Centre for Parenting Support) is The Human Safety Net’s partner for the Families program in Croatia. There are 9 programs that are being implemented: Growing Up Together, (universal program for parents, 11 workshops), Fathers' Club, (4 workshops for fathers + 1 workshop with kids, + 1 workshop with mothers and fathers), Growing Up Together Plus (11 workshops, for parents of children with disabilities), Growing Up Together Goes on (8 workshops, for fathers in a situation of separated parentage), Growing Up Together in a new family (combined live and online workshops for adoptive parents and children), Growing Up Together – Count Us In (16 parallel workshops for parents and children, for families who raise children in adverse circumstances), Growing Up Together ONLINE (10 workshops for parents who raise children in adverse circumstances), Growing Up together MINI (12 interactive online lectures) and Growing Up Together – Count Us In PLUS. 
The First workshops with parents started in 2008, and a few years later the Centre was established in 2013 to develop accessible, evidence-based, and sustainable parenting support programs and to support the network of workshop leaders. All programs focus on children’s and parents’ well-being and development. “Growing Up Together” Centre for Parenting Support workshops involve group work with parents of young children provided mostly in kindergartens. Throughout eleven workshops parents and workshop leaders are partners in seeking answers to the questions concerning parenting and child's development. Parents exchange information, knowledge, skills, and experiences with the leaders and other parents. There were 436 workshops held all over Croatia by September 2023. There are 85 cities in partnership with UNICEF and the Ministry for Demography, Family, Youth, and Social Policy. Partnership with The Human Safety Net in Croatia was launched in 2019 to support parents and children exposed to more demanding life circumstances, that hinder their children's development, including so far more than 14,000 parents and children, with further implementation of new support programs.