WOMEN FROM ROMA, ASHKALI AND EGYPTIAN COMMUNITIES IN OBILIQ/OBILIĆ IMPROVED THEIR ACCESS TO INFORMAL EDUCATION

In March 2022, DRC’s implementing partner NGO Teach for Kosova has started implementation of the informal educational activity which aims to reduce illiteracy among women from Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities in Plemetinë/a, Obiliq/ć Municipality.

In the first phase, taking place during March-May 2022, ten women take the classes where they learn how to read and write. The classes are carried out by two fellows engaged by Teach for Kosova.

At first, women underwent an evaluation test in order to assess their reading and writing skills. Then, fellows commenced with the teaching program. The activities are being held three times per week, and the women have shown an interest in attending the lessons regularly.

This activity is implemented within the project "Empowering adults, youth and children from Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities through education" which is supported by Danish Refugee Council (DRC) and funded by Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), represented by Swedish Embassy in Pristina

DRC SIGNED A NEW AGREEMENT WITH NGO SIT TO CONTINUE WORKING WITH LOCAL YOUTH

On March 1, Danish Refugee Council (DRC) signed the agreement with the Implementing Partner - Center for Counselling Social Services and Research (SIT). This is the third phase of the project on strengthening resilience to conflict, which aim is to bring together up to 60 youth from the Albanian and Serb ethnicities, including youth from other non-majority ethnicities.

A “Dialogue for Peace” project will be implemented in four multi-ethnic municipalities: Kamenicë/a, Fushë Kosova/Kosovo Polje, Mitrovicë/a South, and Mitrovica/ë North. Activities in this phase will focus on bringing youth together physically, as the situation with Covid 19 seems to be relaxed and restrictions are easing up. A variety of meetings and interactive games with youth from the aforementioned municipalities will be organized in the upcoming period.

Finally, the project will implement initiatives based on community needs. Youth will propose activities which will benefit all communities within the implementation area. The project will last for 10 months and will be the part of the project “Supporting Social Entrepreneurship and Promoting Socio-Economic Empowerment in Minority Communities in Kosovo” funded by International Development Cooperation Agency – represented by the Embassy of Sweden in Kosovo (Sida).

Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian community members in Mitrovicë/a South are supported in the framework of the “Improving Social Inclusion of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities in the Mitrovica Region” project implemented by the Danish Refugee Council and funded by the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).

In response to the impact of CoVID-19, the Danish Refugee Council delivered food packages to 375 vulnerable families in South Mitrovicë/a.  The families, who belong to Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities, have been particularly affected in their ability to generate income.

Distributions also entailed supporting 320 children to stay in school with items that will contribute to relieving their families from a financial burden they could not otherwise bear, as well as supporting nine extremely vulnerable individuals with personal care items.

During the distributions, health support items were also handed over to the Director of the Main Family Medicine Centre. Given the high number of persons suffering from diabetes among the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities of South Mitrovicë/a, glucometers and other relevant supplies were provided to the Ambulanta located in Roma Mahalla/Mahala.

Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian community members in Mitrovicë/a South are supported in the framework of the Supporting “Social Entrepreneurship and Promoting Socio-economic Empowerment in Minority Communities in Kosovo” project implemented by the Danish Refugee Council and is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) represented by the Swedish Embassy in Pristina

In response to the impact of CoVID-19, the Danish Refugee Council delivered personal/household hygiene items to 375 vulnerable families in South Mitrovicë/a. The families, who belong to Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities, have been particularly affected in their ability to generate income.

Contextually, in cooperation with the Main Family Medicine Centre of South Mitrovicë/a, a nurse was present during the distribution of packages to measure the temperature of the recipients, thus improving access to health services for DRC’s persons of concern.

Fekrije is a single mother of three children from Roma Mahalla/Mahala. She collects waste plastic for a living and struggles to make ends meet especially with the ongoing restrictions on movement

Sofje and her disabled husband live in Dy Korriku / Sitničko Naselje with their child. They rely exclusively on social benefits to cover costs such as that of the rent for the house were they live.

Turkijan lives in Roma Mahalla/Mahala and is the father of five children. He relies on collecting plastic for the subsistence of his family. Given the ongoing restrictions on movement, he can no longer access sufficient income to meet their basic needs.

Bekim and his wife live in Ura e Gjakut / Krvavi Most. Due to health issues, they are unemployed and rely on social benefits to support themselves and their five daughters

In order to continue to promote ownership and sustainability, community members were fully engaged in the process.  Besides voicing their own concerns through participating in the needs assessment, a number of them have been engaged as community advocates to support awareness raising on CoVID-19.  This will build stronger capacities within the communities and promote long-term empowerment.

Improving skills through basic vocational trainings

Within its Sida-funded project Supporting Social Entrepreneurship and Promoting Socio-economic Empowerment in Minority Communities in Kosovo, DRC is currently providing support to vulnerable individuals from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities of South Mitrovicë/Mitrovica through basic-level vocational training courses.

On 9th September 2019, the latest cycle of training ended.  This is the eight cycle organised by DRC through Sida funds, and it saw the participation of 27 trainees, of whom five women, distributed in six profiles (constructions, auto-mechanics, welding, carpentry, barbering and hairdressing).

Thanks to these trainings, participants develop basic working skills that are crucial for them to access vocational training opportunities organised by the Kosovo institutions, and thus improve their chance to enter the job market.  Trainings started in 2013 and are organised in close cooperation with the Employment Office and Regional Vocational Training Centre of South Mitrovicë/Mitrovica.

Hatixhe is one of the trainers.  She is an engineer with 20 years of experience and has been teaching the constructions course since its start six years ago.  According to her, her five trainees – aged between 25 and 55 – are eager to learn. 

“I hope that, in the future, women from South Mitrovicë/Mitrovica Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities will start to take an interest in constructions, so that the prejudice that labels this field as exclusively for men is dissipated.”
- Hatixhe

Shaban, 54 years old, is one of Hatixhe’s trainees.  He realises that “without any diploma or any experience nowadays it is hard to find a job”, and signed up for DRC’s training so that he can gain the basic skills he needs to continue his professional learning path at the Regional Vocational Training Centre of South Mitrovicë/a.  “Thanks to this training I am even able to plan my day better”, says Shaban full of excitement; “What I learn motivates me to continue to learn”, he adds.  Shaban also mentioned that the bond among trainees – who knew each other beforehand – has become stronger thanks to the time they spent learning together and working together at solving problems.  He is confident this is something they will take away from their participation and continue in their daily lives.

IDPs promote their start-up businesses in Štrpce/Shtërpcë

With funding from MCR, IDP families were assisted to organize a local fair in Štrpce/Shtërpcë to promote their businesses to the wider community.

As part of the EU-funded ‘Supporting durable solutions for collective center residents’ in Kosovo project, 33 internally displaced and vulnerable families who are currently living in collective centers in Štrpce/Shtërpcë, were supported with livelihood opportunities including a mix of income generation grants, vocational training and business trainings.

The local fair was held so that beneficiaries could promote their businesses to new clients and socialize with other inhabitants of the municipality. Full participation in local community life is not only essential to ensure a thriving business, but also vital for sustainable and successful integration.

The fair took place in front of the new indoor playground ‘Pinky’, that is run by Vesna who benefited from an income generating grant to start up this unique business in town. Children of both Serbian and Albanian schools in Štrpce/Shtërpcë ran off their energy in the playground while their parents met with other residents over food prepared by two beneficiaries who have their meat production business and donut and sweets shop a few meters away from the playground. 

Maja is a single mother and runs ‘Sweetheart Maja’ at the corner of the street. For the event she prepared donuts, cakes and other sweets. She opened her sweets shop in November last year. “In the beginning it went super. Children from the nearby school came frequently but after a while they lost interest and I also got competition from other recently opened shops”, says Maja. This local fair gave her renewed courage and motivation and she is now thinking about adding new foods to her assortment.

Neda, who lives with her husband and two teenage children in one of the  collective centers, used her beauty skills to entertain the kids with face painting. Judging by the number of painted faces, her makeup stand was very popular. Journalists from TV Herc, a local tv channel, took her aside and interviewed her about the beauty salon that she opened with EU funding through the project. Even though her beauty salon is running well, she was still eager to participate in the local fair since extra promotion can do no harm. The fair also inspired the participants to work together in the future. “Vesna, who is running the playground, wants to hire me in the future for children’s entertainment when she will organize birthday parties”, smiles Neda proudly.

During the fair other local businesses including brandy production, repair and maintenance works, filigree jewelry, decorations and a local taxi service were also presented.

The fair was organized with funding from the Ministry for Communities and Return. 

A passion for weaving since childhood

Ljiljana Dražević is the Director of Inspiracija, one of the local NGOs DRC has been supporting in Kosovo through funds from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency represented by the Embassy of Sweden in Kosovo (Sida).

Ljiljana’s mission is for traditional weaving not to be forgotten. Her passion started when she was 13 years old, when she learned the first steps in this craft with the help of her grandmother. After acquiring basic skills this way, she moved onto attending formal trainings in Belgrade. She quickly understood the importance of keeping traditional techniques alive, and now utilises hand-made wooden looms for her activities.

In 2017, Ljiljana approached DRC as Inspiracija’s Director to offer her contribution to the women empowerment programme run in South Mitrovicë/a and targeting the members of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities.  As a result, cooperation has been ongoing through the implementation of several projects in Roma Mahalla/Mahala.  The activities implemented by Inspiracija contribute to tackling the challenges faced by Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian women, who are typically confined to a background role in their community; this leads to lower education levels, almost no participation in the labour market and close to no decision-making power.

Over 2 years, 26 women acquired weaving skills in an environment based on team-work, tolerance and mutual respect. In Ljiljana’s words “learning a trade and gaining self-confidence will help women to be competitive on the labour market and it paves the way for continuous empowerment”.  As a result, for instance, recently some trainees participated as models in a showcasing event where they presented their own products – which was unthinkable for a Roma or Ashkali woman until not long ago.

The focus of the activities run by Ljiljana is on producing items that have an added appeal based on the traditional techniques employed and, on the fact, that they are crafted by women belonging to marginalised groups.  This has resulted in a significant number of items sold both at events organised by the NGO, as well as from the small shop she runs in the heart of North Mitrovica/ë.

Now, Ljiljana wishes to continue to play a role in women empowerment through her traditional weaving courses, as well as to focus on working with recycled materials so as to promote environmental protection in her community.

No better place than home

In 2013, the Mitrovic family was finally able to return to their home in Kamenicë/a, a municipality in eastern Kosovo. While the security situation is generally good with the Unites States KFOR covering this area, like many municipalities in Kosovo, Kamenicë/a is struggling with poor infrastructure and high unemployment. For minority communities returning from Serbia these issues can be magnified as a result of having been displaced for many years.

However, Kosovka Mitrovic, her husband Stojan, his mother Stanislavka and their two daughters were determined to make a life for themselves in Kosovo. “There is no better place than home”, says Stanislavka, “but it has not been easy”.

When they returned after almost fifteen years in displacement, their home was dilapidated and their income sources destroyed. While they worked hard to rebuild their house, they did not have the financial means to make it a comfortable home for their children. With no childcare available, Kosovka is taking care of her young children, while her husband found only part-time work in a local school and tries to supplement their income with agricultural jobs.

Faced with many difficulties, PRM-funded support that addresses not only shelter but also livelihoods needs is vital for returnees like Kosovka and her family.

To support rural livelihoods, the project also provides access to rural grants. To enable Kosovka to contribute to the family’s income while working at home, the family opted for a chicken farming grant.

To start them off, DRC delivered a hundred chickens, a henhouse and poultry feed for the first few months with PRM funding. Kosovka and her family also received mentoring on how to raise and care for the chickens and market eggs and poultry.

According to Kosovka, the chickens have been a success: “We received the chickens in June 2018 and they immediately began laying eggs. Now we even have an agreement with one of the local supermarkets where Stojan goes once a week to sell them.”

With Kosovka and the whole family engaged in chicken farming, this extra income ensures that the family can cope on their own.

With PRM support, DRC continues to assist returnees to reintegrate in Kosovo, have access to adequate housing and to provide for themselves.

EU-funded community development project brings youth from different communities together

With funding from the European Union, over 40 youth from Albanian and Serbian communities in Štrpce/Shtërpcë took part in multi-ethnic English language classes organized by DRC.

Starting in January 2018, the English language courses brought together local Serbian and Albanian youth including young IDPs from collective centres in Brezovica, three times per week. Based on the feedback from youth, the classes served not only to improve language skills, but also to increase social inclusion of collective centre youth as well as fostering friendships and positive interaction between majority and minority communities.

This community development project was implemented under the umbrella of the 'Supporting durable solutions for collective centre residents in Kosovo' project, which is funded by the European Union and co-financed by MCR.

PRM project helps rebuilding lives and livelihoods in Kosovo

Srdjan Dimić and his wife fled from their home in Izvor, Kosovo, to Serbia in 1999. In 2017, they returned with their baby daughter to find their house completely destroyed. With nowhere to live and no means to pay rent, the family found shelter in Srdjan’s brother’s basement. 

The family was struggling. Their cramped living quarters, concern for their new-born child and lack of financial means left them feeling overwhelmed. Families like Srdjan’s who return to remote, rural areas often find it difficult to cope on their own in the beginning.

To make sure these families get a chance to rebuild their lives in Kosovo, PRM projects implemented by DRC fund basic needs assistance, including food and essential non-food items, that can help families get over the first difficulties. As part of the PRM project, DRC could also advocate with local authorities to prioritize the family for full house construction, which was approved shortly after.

“PRM-funded basic needs assistance covers gaps and provides immediate relief for families”

While the family was waiting for their home to be completed, the project focused on helping Srdjan make an income to provide for his family. Because of his experience in making brandy, Srdjan was selected for a brandy production grant and received brandy production equipment, trainings and business mentoring as well as market access through participating in trade fairs.

In 2018, with construction of the house completed, the family moved into their new home. Putting the grant he received in 2017 to use, Srdjan produced over 1000 litres of brandy, which he sold at fairs and directly to restaurants in the region. 

With the success he achieved as a result of the PRM-funded brandy production grant and business and grant application trainings, Srdjan felt confident to try and expand his business. 

To save costs and increase production, Srdjan developed the idea to plant his own plum and apple trees. Using his experience he gained during the PRM project, he successfully applied for a follow-up grant from Serbia of 700 plum and apple tree seedlings. 

“PRM-funded grants can help returnees get on their feet and help them rebuild their livelihoods” 

With a little assistance to get started, Srdjan and his family have taken great strides towards reintegration in Kosovo. PRM funding allows DRC to continue supporting other returnee families to rebuild their lives and livelihoods in Kosovo.

PRM Project: Improving Return Assistance for Enhanced Durable Solution Opportunities 2017-2018

EU and MCR support health centres in Štrpce/Shtërpcë Municipality

With funding from the EU and co-financing provided by the Ministry for Communities and Return (MCR), DRC provided  medical equipment to 3 health centres in Štrpce/Shtërpcë Municipality to improve coverage of health services in the Municipality.

Based on needs assessments conducted with the municipal Department of Health, medical staff of the centres and DRC, 3 health centres were equipped with medical devices to improve diagnostics including blood analysis and electrocardiograph units as well as dentistry equipment. In addition, centres were supported with a variety of necessary medical furniture and small medical equipment. All equipment was delivered, installed and tested in collaboration with the medical staff at the centres and the Director of the Health Department.

Moreover, DRC will build and equip a small ambulance within the apartment buildings under construction in Brezovica. The Municipality of Štrpce/Shtërpcë has committed to include this ambulance in their health infrastructure ensuring vulnerable and elderly beneficiaries will have easy access to health checks once they move from the collective centres to their new apartments.

This activity was implemented under the 'Supporting durable solutions for collective centre residents in Kosovo' project, which is funded by the European Union and co-financed by MCR.

Children from Roma Mahalla celebrate International Peace Day with dance and sports

In honor of International Peace Day, Caritas Kosovo organized an event with the motto “Peace for all”. The purpose of this event was to bring together children from all communities from Mitrovicë/a and the region.

DRC Implementing Partners, NGO PRAM and NGO ZRRAM participated with children from “Football School” sub project and youth from the  initiative Youth Dance folklore group.
Activities were held in two different locations;  10 children from “Football School”
showed their talents in sport’s field “Fatime Xhaka”, while NGO ZRRAM performed with 20 youth on the main bridge over the river Ibër/Ibar which is a symbol that connects the two parts of Mitrovicë/a.

At the end of the programme, participants built new friendships between each other’s where everyone agreed that peace and harmony are the way to a better future for all.

IKAP and DRC are building capacities of Mitrovicë/a Municipality Civil staff

Under the framework of the Sida funded project and capacity building initiative DRC Mitrovicë/a and Kosovar Institute for Public Administration (IKAP) are providing capacity building trainings for Mitrovicë/aMunicipality Civil staff

First training on “Evaluation of results at work in Kosovo Civil Service “, held on Sep 18th targeted civil servants of Mitrovicë/a Municipality.

Second trainings on “Managing official documents (archives)” were held on Sep 25th and 26th.

In the continuation of the implementation of capacity building initiative, next sessions of the trainings will be held on Oct 09th, 10th, 16th and 17th covering topics: “Protection of personal data and access to official documents” and  “Comparison of Legislation on public procurement with EU countries”

These trainings are in accordance with the handover process foreseen by the DRC project “Support to Roma, Ashkalia and Egyptian Communities in Mitrovicë/a”. 

Football brings youth from different communities together in Mitrovicë/a

Under the “Football School” sub project, DRC Implementing Partner NGO PRAM in cooperation with Football Club Trepca ’89, organized education trainings for 27 children.

First training on topic “Leadership”, was organized on 20th of September in the Roma Mahalla Learning Center/NGO Resource Center, Mitrovicë/a. During the training, the children had the opportunity to learn many leadership skills in sports that will be of crucial importance to their further career.  After the training, the participants had the opportunity to talk about the training and their experiences.

To build on the success of the first training, NGO PRAM is planning to implement two more training sessions during November 2017 and January 2018, on topics: “Management of sport events” and “Football club’s development”.

Trainings organized by NGO PRAM are supported by Danish Refugee Council under the framework of the Sida-funded project “Support to Roma, Ashkalia and Egyptian Communities in Mitrovicë/a”.

 

Workshop on durable solutions for internally displaced persons

On 24/08/2017 DRC facilitated a workshop funded by UNHCR and aimed at the development of conclusions stemming from the findings of the Profiling of Internally Displaced Persons in Kosovo project.  The project, funded by the Ministry for Communities and Return with support from UNHCR and the Joint IDP Profiling Service, and implemented by DRC, entailed the survey of a sample of IDP households which took place in 2016.  The drafting of a report presenting data on demographics, capacities, vulnerabilities, challenges and durable solutions preferences is currently in its finalisation stage and will be released by the end of the year.  A fully participatory process ensured that a number of institutions and international organisations involved in the provision of durable solutions to the displacement situation were directly engaged in the design, implementation and management of the project, so as to achieve a truly multi–stakeholder outcome.

Sasha and Suncica: A story of return

Since 2011, Danish Refugee Council has facilitated the return of displaced minority families from Serbia to Prizren, Kosovo with funding from the British Embassy Pristina. Suncica and her husband Sasha are two of the many beneficiaries who were able to return to their birthplace as a result.
Click on the link below to read their story:

From Football School to the Super League Group of Kosovo

Armis Avdiu was born in 2001 in Mitrovicë/a. Until 1998 his family lived in the village of Stan Tërg/Stari Trg Mitrovicë/a, in very bad living conditions. Armis now lives together with his parents in 2 Korriku/Sitnicko Naselje neighborhood in Mitrovicë/a, where he finished the 9th grade at “Bedri Gjinaj” primary school.

Due to very difficult economic conditions, Armis decided to drop out of school, in order to ensure some income for his family. With support from Danish Refugee Council (DRC), in 2015, Armis participated in a three-month vocational training on carpentry, at the Diakonie training center.

In July 2015, NGO PRAM with support from DRC started to implement the subproject “Football school”, financed by Sida, represented by the Swedish Embassy in Prishtinë/a. This subproject foresees to train more than 50 RAE children from Roma Mahala and 2 Korriku/Sitnicko Naselje neighborhoods.  “Knowing the talent that Roma, Ashkalia and Egyptian children possess on sport of football, and in order to keep children away from negative influences, NGO PRAM with support of DRC started to draft the proposal for offering football classes to RAE children, and this idea was ”, stated NGO PRAM director Mr. Milaim Ramadani.

As soon as he heard about this subproject, Armis decided to register with this football school. In order to fulfill his childhood dream, Armis parents without any hesitation signed all paper works, in order to allow him to be part of the school.

“As a child I dreamed of becoming a football player, therefore I would like to thank my parents, my trainer at Trepça 89, NGO PRAM and all other organizations involved on this subproject for offering our communities this opportunity”.

Mr. Shkëlzen Avdiu, Armis’s father says that he is very grateful to NGO PRAM and DRC for helping his son to follow his dreams, because he personally couldn’t follow his dreams because of poor economic conditions.

In the beginning, among 50 RAE children, Armis is registered in the U-17 group, which trains twice a week, coached by a UEFA licensed coach. Now Armis is training also with FC Trepça 89 which plays in the Kosovo Super League, in the U-17 team.  Now, Armis was registered in the Kosovo Football Federation, and plays official matches for FC Trepça 89.

“I would like to thank his family for trusting me when we decided to bring him to FC Trepça 89, where he was accepted as part of the team in a remarkable way” said Lavdim Behxheti the coach of Trepça 89 for U13 and U17.

Danish Refugee Council Kosovo, with funding from Sida, as of March 2014, started implementing a 4-year Project: “Support to Roma, Ashkalia and Egyptian Communities in Mitrovicë/a”. The Project aims to contribute to the stabilization and integration process of Roma, Ashkalia and Egyptian women, men, girls and boys in Mitrovicë/a by providing the tools and support necessary for members of the Roma, Ashkalia and Egyptian Communities and vulnerable members of the majority community to improve their future opportunities in education, employment and civic participation in a multi-ethnic Kosovo.

New Businesses graduate from DRC’s Social Business Incubator (SBI) Mitrovicë/a

On February 1st in 2017, 22 trainees from Roma, Ashkalia and Egyptian Communities received certificates for successful completion of three-month training in Construction, Welding, Carpentry, Auto mechanic, Barber and Hairdresser at an event organized in Mitrovicë/a. Three businesses received graduation certificates from DRC’s Social Business Incubator. Deputy Mayor of Mitrovicë/a, Mr. Faruk Mujka held a speech where he stated that the municipality of Mitrovicë/a will continue to support DRC’s activities which are helping different communities to get higher education and trainings and prepare them for the job market. One of the graduated business owners stated that he is grateful to the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare for the training and for the help in trying to find better employment.

This graduation ceremony is a result of the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Ministry for Labour and Social Welfare and DRC’s Social Business Incubator in Roma Mahalla, which provides infrastructure to offer preparatory vocational training courses to youth from Roma Mahalla and the Mitrovicë/a region.

In close cooperation with the Employment Office Mitrovicë/a, DRC identified mentors to offer courses in: Construction, Welding, Carpentry, Auto mechanic, Barber and Hairdresser.

Under the 3rd round framework of the trainings, 22 trainees were registered in May 2016 through the Employment Office Mitrovicë/a. They attended trainings and got the opportunity to gain basic skills that will facilitate their further vocational education.

Trainings with qualified mentors took place three times a week for the duration of three months. Certificates issued by the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare for successful completion of the course will enable better employment opportunities.

With this programme, DRC's Social Business Incubator contributes not only to the existing employment and vocational training infrastructure in Mitrovicë/a region, but also establishes closer links between members of Roma, Ashkalia and Egyptian communities and the majority community.

The preparatory vocational training programme is funded by Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) under the umbrella of the project Support to Roma, Ashkalia and Egyptian Communities Project in Mitrovicë/a.

SBI Vocational Training Centre has been established by DRC in July 2013 in cooperation with Regional Center for Professional Skills in Mitrovicë/a under the agreement with MLSW and Employment Office Mitrovicë/a.

Talent knows no boundaries: Shaban's story

Shaban Gashijan was born on 15th of August 2004 in the Cesmin Lug Camp in Mitrovicë/a North. From 2002 to 2007 his parents lived in Cesmin Lug in very bad conditions. In 2007 they returned to their home in Roma Mahalla in Mitrovicë/a. Shaban is in 6th grade at “Branko Radicevic” primary school in Mitrovicë/a North.

Since 2011 Shaban attended educational activities on homework support provided by DRC’s local implementing partner RADC Learning Centre in Roma Mahala. The aim of the Learning Centre is to increase the involvement of children of Roma, Ashkalia and Egyptian communities in Mitrovicë/a, by providing additional education support through which Shaban gains more knowledge in order to find his place in the school system.

In July 2015, NGO PRAM with support from DRC started to implement the subproject “Football school”, financed by Sida, represented by Swedish Embassy in Prishtinë/a. This subproject foresees to train more than 50 Roma, Ashkalia and Egyptian children from Roma Mahala and 2 Korriku/Sitnicko Naselje neighborhoods.

In 2016 Shaban was registered at the Football School where he trains together with 50 children from Roma Mahala and 2 Korriku/Sitnicko Naselje neighborhoods that participate twice per week in trainings at the local football stadium. After one year of training at Football School, Shaban was selected by FC Trepça 89 to play as a professional football player for Super League of Kosovo/a for U13 team.

Thanks to Danish Refugee Council through funds by the Swedish International Development Agency, Shaban Gashian continues to attend educational and sports activities, which make him part of the society.

DRC Community outreach enables more youths and adults from Roma Mahalla and Dy Korriku/Sitnicko Naselje to continue their education

As part of the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) funded project “Support to Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian Communities” in Mitrovicë/a”, Danish Refugee Council (DRC) community workers organized a community outreach effort to identify youths and adults who did not complete secondary school. The outreach was conducted in Roma Mahalla and Dy Korriku/Sitnicko Naselje neighborhoods from 28th of December 2016 to 5th of January 2017 by DRC’s community workers.

86 individuals were interviewed, 64 in Roma Mahalla, 12 in Dy Korriku/Sitnicko Naselje neighborhoods. 6 youths and adults were identified as potential candidates (5 male, and 1 female) to continue their education. Thanks to these efforts they are now registered in Secondary Economic school “Hasan Prishtina” in Mitrovicë/a.

This new group of students will join the first group of 7 (5 male and 2 female) students who are already registered in the Adult education program since October 2016.