Double award

Diakonia North Macedonia of The United Methodist Church received two awards on December 11, 2025.
 
Every day, 265 meals are prepared in the kitchen of the Diaconal Center “Miss Stone” of the UMC in North Macedonia. They are distributed to people who are in need of help and who have no one else to care for them. Thirty people who are severely restricted in their mobility due to age or health problems are regularly visited and accompanied as part of the home care ministry. And several dozen people receive individual social assistance – firewood, for example, medication, or hygiene items.
 
In their daily personal encounters, the employees of the diaconal center see how important – in some cases even vital – this service is. Time and again, they see a sun of hope rise in people's faces and deep gratitude reflected in their eyes.
 
On December 11, 2025, the long-standing and reliable work of the diaconal center was also recognized far beyond the circle of recipients of the humanitarian aid. The center received the “Veljo Mančevski” award, named after the first state commissioner for religious affairs. The award, presented for the fourth time by the Commission for Relations between Religious Communities and Religious Groups, was presented during the traditional pre-New Year's reception. This event brings together the highest state representatives, leaders of all religious communities, and figures from diplomatic and academic life in the capital Skopje.
 
Among those present was the country's president, Prof. Dr. Gordana Siljanovska Davkova. “We live in an age of accelerated digitalization, fraught with geopolitical tensions and widespread uncertainty. In such times, we have an urgent need for guidance, dignity, integrity, courage, and commitment,” she said in her speech. The president praised the award winners as “messengers of truth, advocates for the unjustly treated and the forgotten, and defenders of spirituality and morality”.
 
The Diaconal Center “Miss Stone” was honored for its contribution to religious and social-humanitarian life in general and for its continuous and long-standing commitment to the most vulnerable population groups in particular.
 
On the same day, the diaconal center was also honored by the political community of Strumica and its mayor, Petar Jankov, for its special humanitarian contribution to social coexistence.
 
Martin Konev, Executive Director of Diakonia of the UMC in North Macedonia, who gratefully received both awards, emphasized: "We see this recognition as a strong confirmation that our mission based on faith, solidarity, and care has been recognized and appreciated. Both awards are a strong confirmation of our many years of work and the trust we enjoy in society at the local and national level." He thanked all the staff of the diaconal center for their important and reliable service. He also acknowledged the generous financial support of organizations and individuals within and beyond North Macedonia. While being joyful and thankful, he also sees this special form of appreciation as a mandate to continue to live out love in concrete ways and to remain close to people in need: “This recognition is our shared success and, at the same time, an obligation to continue to work with even greater commitment where help is most urgently needed.”
 
Source: Christina Cekov, Strumic / Urs Schweizer, Zurich
 
 
Photo: Olivera Trajkovska, Director of the Commission for Relations between Religious Communities and Religious Groups, presents the award to Martin Konev, Executive Director of Diakonia North Macedonia. On the right, the President of the Republic of North Macedonia, Prof. Dr. Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, during her speech.