North Macedonia’s Alkaloid raised nearly 2.2 million denars at its annual charity picnic, with the money earmarked for specialised equipment to diagnose and treat respiratory conditions in children.
SKOPJE, Sept 19 (BalkanView) – Pharmaceutical company Alkaloid said it raised nearly 2.2 million denars ($42,000) at its 12th annual charity picnic to purchase specialised medical equipment for the University Clinic for Respiratory Diseases in Children – Kozle in Skopje.
The donation will finance a modern bronchoscopy system equipped with a fibre-optic bronchoscope, which allows doctors to directly examine children’s airways using a thin, flexible instrument.
The equipment can be used for the early diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary diseases as well as in emergencies involving foreign objects inhaled into a child’s airways.
“We are especially grateful that Alkaloid, as it has done many times before, recognises the importance of investing in health and creating better treatment conditions for our youngest patients,” clinic director Professor Katerina Boshkovska said.
She described the donation as an example of corporate social responsibility that creates “concrete and lasting value for the community”.
The company said its charity picnic initiative dates back to September 2011, when it was launched during Alkaloid’s 75th anniversary celebrations for employees, their families and friends.
The event has since become an annual tradition, interrupted only during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the first picnic, close to 14 million denars have been raised for healthcare institutions, humanitarian and civil society organisations and initiatives supporting children, people with rare diseases, vulnerable groups and elderly people, as well as environmental projects, according to Alkaloid.
The donations have been channelled through the Trajche Mukaetov Foundation, established by Alkaloid in 2007.
Alkaloid Chief Executive and Management Board President Zhivko Mukaetov, who also heads the foundation, said employees were central to maintaining the initiative.
“Behind every success and every achievement of Alkaloid are people – those who laid the foundations, those who continued to build and those who are taking the company forward today,” Mukaetov said.
He said this year’s decision to direct the donation towards children’s healthcare reflected the company’s broader mission.
“I am particularly pleased that this year’s donation is intended to provide better treatment conditions for the youngest, because that is the essence of our mission: health above all,” he said.
This year’s charity picnic also incorporated a visual element linked to Alkaloid’s 90th anniversary.
Traditional event T-shirts featured “Alkaloid’s House”, a motif created by Macedonian artist Satja Grabul and intended to represent belonging, closeness and solidarity among employees.
With almost 14 million denars collected since the initiative began, the company’s annual picnic has evolved from an internal corporate gathering into a recurring fundraising initiative supporting healthcare and social causes across North Macedonia.