Gavrilović donates a building to the Petrinja Secondary School

An agreement to donate a 2400 m2 school building and the accompanying land exceeding 8000 m2 in area has been officially signed.

The city secondary school was destroyed in the earthquake and was deemed unfit for use by experts following inspection. Mr. Milan Orlić, Principal of the Petrinja Secondary School, immediately responded to Gavrilović’s initiative and call, making great efforts to follow all the protocols through to the end, obtain all the necessary consents at short notice and secure the status to sign the donation agreement.

The owner of the Gavrilović meat-processing company Georg Gavrilović Sr., officially co-signed an agreement to donate the Gavrilović school building and associated land with Milan Orlić, Principal of the Petrinja Secondary School. In addition to the 2400 m2 school building, a courtyard with an area exceeding 8000 m2, which is required for building a sports ground, a parking area and other infrastructure of the future Petrinja Secondary School, has also been donated. The signing ceremony, which took place in the grand hall of Gavrilović’s plant in Petrinja, was attended by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia Boris Milošević, Minister of Science and Education Radovan Fuchs and the Prefect of Sisak-Moslavina County Ivo Žinić.

– After the gravity of the situation in the aftermath of the earthquake had sunk in, my son and I immediately wanted to tell one another about the idea. The building that we are donating was a school for butchers, who used to have theory classes there. I am looking forward to us being neighbours again. I hope that the children will be happy when they come to school – said Georg Gavrilović, adding that the building could be fully operational as a school very soon.

– Our goal is to make this building appropriate for holding classes in line with the 21st century, while keeping a watchful eye on the renovation of our historical building. Our mission is to provide pupils with a high-quality education and to offer our fellow townspeople hope for survival and a reason to stay in their hometown – said Milan Orlić, Principal of the Petrinja Secondary School after signing the agreement.

This donation was promised by the CEO of the Gavrilović meat-processing company Georg Gavrilović Jr., who, on 5 January, when it was suggested to him by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia Mr. Andrej Plenković on visiting the plant, he made a promise that he would donate the Gavrilović school building to the Ministry of Science and Education and Sisak-Moslavina County, so that life in Petrinja could return to normal sooner and that schoolchildren in Petrinja could continue receiving a high-quality education, which is certainly a priority and a solid foundation for a new beginning.

– Their action proves that they are thinking of the community instead of only themselves. I trust that this will help the county as the founder and the Ministry to organise classes in all schools. Out of the 58 buildings damaged in this area, 9 are completely unfit for use and 12 are unfit to take in pupils. It has been difficult to hold classes, yet a majority of our pupils have attended them. This is a promising start and we believe that the building will be operational soon – said Prefect Ivo Žinić.

– The Ministry will ensure funds for design. The government are doing their utmost to secure financial aid from the European Solidarity Fund as soon as possible. There are also certain donating initiatives. We know that the Hungarian government has offered to finance the refurbishment of one of our schools, which has yet to be determined. In any case, the Gavrilović Family have made a wonderful and humane gesture. After all, Petrinja is Gavrilović and Gavrilović is Petrinja – Minister Radovan Fuchs commented.

– This is a great encouragement, as well as a great commitment, but also a blueprint for the government and the Civil Protection Headquarters on how to come up with solutions and implement measures in order to convince young people to stay here, find employment and start families. This region does not deserve desolation – the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia Boris Milošević concluded.

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