Center of childcare center in the north of Kosovo, for people from Serbia living with a disability

Status: Closed | Number of beneficiaries: 47 072 of which 1 072 direct beneficiaries

Local partner

D.E.A Mitrovica, Democratization, Education, Advocacy, Local ONG, founded by former Salaries of PADEM in Kosovo

The problem

It is difficult to establish a specific number of people with disabilities in Kosovo, the United Nations estimated in 2012 to 150 000 while the Kosova Agency of Statistics had 93 000. The health system in Kosovo does not allow to meet the needs of people with disabilities (lack of infrastructure, staff, irregular budgets …), especially in rural areas. Access to education is limited because specialized schools are particularly scarce and transport is not adapted, making it difficult for children with disabilities to go to school. People with disabilities have few job opportunities, and suffer a lot of discrimination: 80% of them belong to the poorest social class in the country. In addition, there are few concrete actions or policies for people with disabilities, the government does not seem to make it a priority. The care of these people in northern Kosovo is made even more difficult by the fact that many of them use the health care system of Serbia, which is more adapted, which complicates their care.

Objectives / Activities

The aim of the project is to strengthen a multi-service reception center for people with disabilities in Mitrovica and extend its reach to all of Northern Kosovo through a mobile unit.

Activities carried out:

  • Recruitment of staff for the development and rehabilitation center for children, adolescents and adults already existing in the city of Mitrovica
  • Creation of a mobile unit for people with disabilities living in remote areas of North Kosovo: medical consultations, legal, leisure activities (hairdressing, reading …), care for young children
  • Organization of cultural outings, festive events and summer camps from 5 to 10 days for direct beneficiaries and their relatives
  • Professional training in computer science
  • Awareness of the population

Beneficiaries

  • Direct beneficiaries: 1072 people with disabilities.
  • Indirect beneficiaries: 46,000 people, the population of northern Kosovo will be sensitized.