INTERVIEW: Maja Korubin, coordinator of SOS line for children and young people

The number of calls related to any form of violence is increasing

The free SOS line for children and young people – 0800 12222 was opened on 2 June this year and at its presentation in front of the public, the Medjashi Embassy pointed out the 12-year existence of the phone line. How was it formed and what are the specific characteristics for its development till today?
The SOS line for children and young people first started functioning and receiving calls from children and youth in 1993, a year after the establishment of the First Children’s Embassy in the world – Medjashi. Gordana Pirkovska – Zmijanac, program manager and founder of Medjashi, motivated by the number of children and young people who had called the Embassy and asked for help, initiated the idea for forming such service where children could call and talk to someone about their problem.

The SOS line is the first line for children and youth in the country. Going through many good and bad periods, the line has continually been functioning for 12 years and over 120 volunteers have been trained so far. There were times when the line was in financial crisis and functioned only on voluntary basis. Last year was particularly productive for expansion and development of the SOS service. The Macedonian telecommunications has given a new number to the SOS line, free (0800 12222), so it has become more available to the part of children population from the socially lower classes. Macedonian telecommunications have also provided us with a video for the line and with financial support from the Children and Youth Balkans Foundation a brochure has been printed on the occasion of 12-year existence of this service. Psychological counseling service was opened in June, where through direct contact with the psychologist Florian Naumot, children and young people can talk about their problems and conflicts. It works every day from 16:30 to 20:30 and the SOS line for children and young people from 8:30 to 20:30.

According to your experience so far, what is the number of calls a year and what do callers most often call you for?
More than 15,000 children and young people have asked the SOS line for help since the very beginning. In the first years there were two to three thousand calls a year. The period of crisis in Macedonia was felt in the functioning of the SOS line when calls drastically decreased and the phone functioned only on voluntary basis. In the last years, in terms of the number of calls, the line for children and youth is gradually returning to its original position.

They call us for various reasons and express various needs. In the past years problems related to any form of violence (16-20% of total number of calls) have increased and it can be physical, sexual or mental, happening at home or outside. Unfortunately, this kind of problems, that might require biggest attention, can be difficultly solved just by a conversation on the phone. One of the more significant reasons for this is that the problem most often does not lie in the children themselves who call, but in the adults. The others, “cuter“ problems that children and young people call about are love problems, problems occurring in interpersonal relations with friends, at school, problems related to identity crisis etc.

What kind of foreknowledge and training is necessary to the volunteers working on the SOS line and what are the working principles they have to respect?
In order to acquire necessary knowledge, information and skills, the volunteering team, consisted of graduated psychologists, social workers, pedagogues, sociologists and students at faculties that treat this issue, attends a training course consisting of theory and practice. Theory consists of lectures that provide basic knowledge and information in the following fields: children’s rights protection, addictions prevention (drugs, alcohol and other addictions), health protection, sexual education and protection against sexually transmitted diseases, mental health etc. Practice consists of exercises that are simulated calls between a volunteer and a “caller”, as well as a group discussion after the call. Volunteers are constantly supervised.

SOS volunteers practice not to give final solutions to the callers’ problems. The volunteer, through acceptance and support, leads the caller through the problem, they talk about possible alternatives of dealing with a given situation and eventually the caller makes a decision.

Basic principles of work are anonymity and reliability, which means that we do not insist upon caller’s identity and conversations are strictly confidential.

Do you cooperate with state institutions and civil society organizations in exchange of necessary experiences and information, but also in solving anonymous callers’ problems?
In the past years we have created a network with other civil society organizations and governmental services in Macedonia that deal with fields our line covers. Through the network we realize a few goals: we receive necessary, important information for the target group, we direct some calls to the departments specialized for specific fields, we follow the development of certain cases. We also cooperate with the Psychology Department as a main source for new, motivated and educated volunteers. Psychology students are sent to us in order to gain practical knowledge in the fields of mental health and psychological counseling. I would especially like to point out the cooperation with other SOS lines for help and support, as well as the Inter-commune Social Work Center.

Last year the SOS line became a member of CHI (Child Helpline International), world network of SOS lines for children. How much development does network cooperation with the world and civil society organizations in Macedonia provide in protection of children and youth’s rights? What are the so far problems?
This year at the Regional meeting held in Zagreb and the Second International Counseling in Amsterdam, where our representatives took part, among other things, it was discussed about principles and standards that all SOS lines for children and youth should observe, functioning all over the world. These principles and standards are universal and generally valid and have become implemented and integral part of the work of the SOS line. Through these principles and standards, created according to the Conception of child’s right, there is protection of children and young people and their rights.

For the first time in the existence of the line you do not have a foreign donor. Is it about gradual opening of the domestic business sector towards overcoming problems, or it is a well-formed strategy for collecting finances by the Medjashi Embassy?
 For the first time in the existence of the line we are financed by both domestic (Agency for Young and Sports through the Project for Development of Children and Youth) and foreign foundation (Children Helpline International – CHI). This year our donor is also the Macedonian telecommunications, providing a free phone line and a video. One of our objectives is bigger cooperation with the civil society sector and the business sector and trust building and support by socially responsible entrepreneurs in Macedonia. Our SOS line is aimed at all children in Macedonia and in future it will have to rely more on a domestic source of financing. We hope for financial support by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy and since the SOS line is of public interest, we soon expect this line to be completely financed by the Ministry. It would enable improvement in sustainability of our SOS line with concrete support by both governmental and business sector.