News Archive 2020 – Help Montenegro

The Help as a bridge between workers and entrepreneurs on the Northeast of Montenegro

25.12.2020

Here are the two examples on in “Golden hands” craft tailoring and producer of furniture “Arte Home”, in Bijelo Polje and Berane.

As a part of project “Improved access to the labor market for women and youth in the Northeast of Montenegro”. The Help has been implemented a program in which we were providers of trainings for unemployed people and as well as skillful and deficit workforce for employers. The project is funded by Ministry of Finance of Montenegro – Directorate for Finance and Contracting of the EU Assistance Funds (CFCU).

Bečić: We must make effort to create a better and more certain future for Roma and Egyptians in Montenegro

10.12.2020

Being aware of the fact that Roma and Egyptians as a marginalized social group face numerous problems in terms of discrimination, social exclusion and generational poverty, we must make special efforts to improve their quality of life and provide them with a more secure future – said Aleksa Bečić, President of Montenegrin Parliament today at the opening of the exhibition of photographs by young Roma and Egyptians “Human Rights through the Lens of Young Roma and Egyptians”.

“In this age of great challenges, caused by the coronavirus pandemic and complex economic circumstances, it is necessary more than ever to pay attention to the protection of human rights and freedoms, because we can talk about the future and true progress only in that way. “Our unreserved commitment to the European path, guided by common values, is the best confirmation of our sincere intention to improve the human rights of all citizens on a daily basis, regardless of their differences,” Bečić said.

While speaking about today’s installation in the Parliament, President Bečić stated that special attention was paid to the promotion and protection of human rights of Roma and Egyptians in Montenegro on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day, in order to emphasize the importance of their full inclusion and equality in Montenegrin society.

Without them, or any other community, which together represent the cultural diversity and riches of Montenegro, it is impossible to talk about true reconciliation and lasting peace, the President of the Parliament concluded.

The head of the EU Delegation to Montenegro, Oana Cristina Popa, said that the most important message on the occasion of Human Rights Day was for everyone to unite efforts in the fight for equality, justice and human dignity.

“The European Union remains the biggest supporter of the promotion and protection of human rights, especially of vulnerable groups such as Roma and Egyptians and LGBTQ. “Despite significant EU support and efforts of institutions and civil society, these two groups, according to the latest research, are still at the bottom of the social ladder and are facing marginalization in Montenegrin society” Popa said.

Ambassador Popa stated that the EU continues to cooperate with civil society and other relevant actors in advocating for the protection and respect of human rights, whether civil, political, social, economic or cultural rights.

As a part of this project, for which the EU has provided 150,000 euros, more than 250 young Roma were supported to participate in a range of social and cultural activities in their communities. In addition, 15 young Roma who successfully completed the school year, underwent training for peer educators and enhanced their knowledge of human rights as well as photography, Ambassador Popa said.

One of them is the author of several photos, a young Roma activist Jasmina Beriša, who is also a golden advisor to the Ombudsman.

“Ever since I was 10, I have been involved in activism, from when I had first participated in human rights workshops. If someone had asked me before what the human rights, discrimination and dignity were, I would not have been able to answer that question. That workshop was a great driving force for me. Why is that so? I have learned something new; I have learned what discrimination is, I have learned that I used to be a victim of discrimination and that I discriminated against someone, more precisely that I endangered someone’s human rights and that someone endangered my human rights. “

On the International Human Rights Day, this excellent student of the Elementary School “Božidar Vuković Podgoričanin” who is going after „Luča”, has stated that the situation in practice is not great.

„If we were to go to any store now, we would see a child in front of the door of the store begging, if we were to take a walk down the street I am sure you would see at least one mother with a child in her arms who is hungry and thus trying to earn something. If we were to go to any apartment building, I am sure that most of the young residents of that building would not have the opportunity to get a job. We can also go to any Roma settlement, and that settlement would be in complete chaos, smoke would be everywhere, the environment would be completely polluted, and so the question presents itself just how can we protect ourselves from the corona virus pandemic. I need to tell you something else as well: one day, on my way to school, I met a seven-year-old child who was in very poor physical condition, with torn clothes, all dirty, but despite all that that child respected what the state has asked and wore a mask. He has fulfilled his obligation, but the question is whether the state does the same, whether it fulfills its obligations and whether it treats all its citizens responsibly?“ Jasmina Beriša wondered.

Famous Montenegrin photographer Dejan Kalezić, mentor of Roma and Egyptian teenage authors of photographs and selector of 28 works that the exhibition consists of, has said that his work on this project represents a pleasure for him, because nine young people have shown their feelings, desires and the way they see human rights through their photographs.

“I congratulate you the International Human Rights Day with the wish that we celebrate every next one in such a beautiful way as today’s exhibition, and that we have as few reasons as possible to point out human rights violations,” said Kalezić.

The regional coordinator of Help, Klaus Mock, said that this organization has decided to take the opportunity on Human Rights Day to reaffirm the protection of Roma human rights, although the International Roma Day is April 8, and thanked the Parliament for accepting the initiative and for organizing this event.

„Since there is still a wide gap in living standards between Roma and Egyptian communities compared to the majority population, I trust that the Montenegrin parliament will do its part to help significantly improve the general situation of Roma in MNE by asking the Montenegrin authorities to intervene on behalf of these communities.“ said Mock.

Equal opportunities for all citizens and involvement in civil and political life are key to democracy. For that reason, according to the regional coordinator, we in Help support several Roma organizations that will become driving factors of their own rights through the project “Civil society in action promoting and protecting Roma and Egyptian rights in Montenegro” funded by the EU.

„I am proud to be able to say that, during its 25 years of work in the Balkans and more than 20 years in Montenegro, Help has always addressed the hardships of the Roma and Egyptian communities and will remain to be on their side.“

Elvis Beriša, executive director of the NGO “Walk with us – Phiren Amenca” has said that the young and educated Roma men and women are the greatest protectors of not only Roma human rights, but of human rights of all communities in Montenegro.

“The exhibition that we have the opportunity to see here today, was organized in an innovative way, which is also characteristic of youth activism. We hope that in the future it will become praxis for young people, as in this case it was through their lenses, to have the opportunity to show how they see human rights, instead of looking at the Roma community and their rights from the perspective of the majority,” Beriša pointed out.

As he said, he was glad that they have gathered today in this great house, where the destiny of all peoples in Montenegro, and thus the Roma, is being shaped, and that he has had the opportunity to point out the needs of the Roma community.

“The doors of this house should be open in order for the voice of the people to be heard. But we should remind ourselves because we were all witnesses of that, that the voice of the most endangered people in Montenegro and Europe has never before been heard in this house in the way on which all other nationalities have the opportunity for it. We cannot say that we are a democratic country, if in 21st century we still have laws that openly discriminate against one nation, which makes it impossible for their voice to be heard in the greatest house of a country, such as the Parliament. Therefore, from this place I am sending a strong message to all decision-makers to keep in mind that the Roma community also wants to enjoy the right to vote and to be elected.” said Beriša.

Today on Human Rights Day, the organization “Walk with us – Phiren Amenca” was awarded the international Roma Youth Project Award for the best youth project in Europe – for the project “Young for Youth”.

The President of the Parliament of Montenegro, Aleksa Bečić, presented the camera award to the Muhamed Ahmetaj, one of the authors who according to Dejan Kalazić showed the greatest creativity and has demonstrated hard work, although the exhibition did not have a competitive character.

After the Parliament, we will display this valuable exhibit in several other Montenegrin cities.

The exhibition is part of the program “Civil society in action promoting and protecting Roma and Egyptian rights in Montenegro ” which is implemented by Help in cooperation with the partner Roma youth organization “Walk with us – Phiren Amenca”, with financial support of the European Union and the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR).

Biljana Jovićević

Videos: Parliament of Montenegro Photos: Parliament of Montenegro and Help

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Human rights through the lens of young Roma and Egyptians

Even those who make a living from words very often tend to admit that “a picture is worth 1000 words”. Just one frame captured in the right moment, from the right angle with enough light often will tell you a story that words are not capable to describe. These young people who are ahead of life full of challenges but huge expectations, through the photographs selected for the exhibition on the occasion of Human Rights Day, have told as a story- how they see themselves, their role in society and the world around them, which still too often does not see them as equals. We hope that it will be a pleasure, but also instructive, to see how teenagers from the unjustifiably marginalized Roma-Egyptian (RE) communities in Montenegrin society see the issue of human rights.

We from the Help are convinced that there is no better way to celebrate 25 years of our engagement in Western Balkans, than to give a chance to those young people who look to have a bright future and on whom count RE communities, but also the entire Montenegrin society.

Biljana Jovićević

Autori:

Besart Krasnići
Daut Đukatani
Elmedina Jašaraj
Enis Zumberi
Erđan Beriša
Ersan Beriša
Jasmina Beriša
Muhamed Ahmetaj
Sadrija Krasnići

Selektor:

Dejan Kalezić

Besart Krasnići

Daut Đukatani

Elmedina Jašaraj

Enis Zumberi

Erđan Beriša

Ersan Beriša

Jasmina Beriša

Muhamed Ahmetaj

Sandrija Krasnići

Distribution of aid for the most vulnerable citizens throughout Montenegro is underway

9. 12. 2020

The distribution of humanitarian aid funded by the German Government is underway in Montenegro

Help activists, as well as municipal Red Cross organizations are currently distributing food, hygiene and school supplies packages to Montenegrin municipalities for the most vulnerable categories of the population.

The aid is intended to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 epidemic, which has further aggravated the social situation of the most vulnerable categories of the Montenegrin population.

A total of 3,210 food and hygiene packages are being distributed to 1,605 families. In addition to food and hygiene, Help activists are distributing 800 packages of school supplies as well.

The Montenegrin Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare has given support to these measures, which we believe will make life easier for the most vulnerable people in the conditions during the pandemic.

The total value of this project, which is financed by the Government of Germany through the Embassy in Podgorica is 50 thousand euros.

Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in March, Help has repeatedly distributed food and hygiene assistance many times to the most vulnerable citizens throughout Montenegro. Also, in order to facilitate the process of online learning, we have distributed mobile phones to children, as well as tablets for easier communication with the outside world in several public institutions throughout Montenegro.

Below are the photos from the field throughout Montenegro.

The German government and Help are helping the most vulnerable citizens affected by the COVID-19 pandemic

16.11.2020

A total of 1,100 food and hygiene packages along with 800 boxes of school supplies will be distributed to the most vulnerable citizens in Montenegro. Help’s new project, which is funded by the German Embassy in Podgorica, is intended to help the most vulnerable categories of citizens who are further additionally affected by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In eight municipalities in northern Montenegro: Berane, Bijelo Polje, Andrijevica, Petnjica, Plav, Rožaje, Gusinje, Pljevlja as well as in Nikšić, food and hygiene are going to be distributed, while school supplies will be distributed to vulnerable categories in the central and southern part of Montenegro.

Part of the packages with the school supplies will be distributed in Berane, Bijelo Polje and Nikšić.

The Montenegrin Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare has given support to these measures, for which we believe will make life easier for the most vulnerable people under the conditions of this pandemic.

Help will distribute this help in coordination with the Montenegrin Red Cross and in compliance with the measures for fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic. The distribution of help packages will begin in early December.

The total value of this project which is funded by the Government of Germany through the Embassy in Podgorica is 50 thousand Euros.

Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in March, Help has in few circle distributed food and hygiene assistance to the most vulnerable citizens throughout Montenegro. Also, in order to facilitate the process of online learning, we donated smart mobile phones for children, as well as tablets for easier communication with the outside world in several public institutions in the Montenegro.

Project for better integration of Roma and Egyptians through mediation has been presented

05.11.2020

Help and the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights have presented a new project to the Montenegrin public – “Social inclusion of Roma and Egyptians through mediation”.

This means that in practice, Help will organize training and work for inclusion associates that will facilitate access to public services for citizens of the Roma and Egyptian communities in 11 Montenegrin municipalities, and thus raise their quality of life.

Tatjana Anđelić, head of the Department for European Integration, Programming and Implementation of EU Funds in the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, said that the project is very important for the Roma and Egyptian population in Montenegro.

“First of all, I would like to emphasize that we are presenting this project today, on November 5, the World Roma Language Day, and I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all members of the Roma population in our country and beyond, for the desire to preserve, cultivate and promote their language as their heritage, because language is an important cultural quality of every nation” said Anđelić.

“The project will contribute to the improvement of knowledge and implementation of anti-discrimination policy by competent institutions and services – especially at the local level, through activities that strengthen administrative capacity as well as coordination, mentoring and networking of associates in social inclusion” the government representative added.

As she has said, the Government is committed to creating and implementing policies for faster and full social inclusion, as well as to improving the economic position of the RE population.

“These policies certainly contain measures and activities that, through the joint work of all relevant institutions, aim to provide assistance to the individual and their families, because in this way we accelerate the integration of the Roma and Egyptian communities as a whole. You know that we have adopted a Strategy for Roma Social Inclusion and Egyptians in Montenegro for the period 2016-2020, which is based on the principles of equality, non-discrimination and equal opportunities. Montenegro is a signatory state to the Poznan Declaration, which defines the continued integration of Roma and Egyptian communities in our country as a goal. It is the obligation of all of us to implement antidiscrimination policies through respect for the human rights of all citizens. At the same time, good coordination of all relevant institutions is necessary, especially those at the local level. ”

The regional coordinator of Help, Klaus Mock, has assessed that some improvements have been made but that there is still a long way to go to in order to achieve real equality for Roma and Egyptians.

“Marginalisation persists, and many Roma and Egyptians continue to face a combination of disproportionate discrimination and socioeconomic exclusion in their daily lives. We from Help have – together with local and international partners – worked for the last 20 years in Montenegro to improve the situation of Roma and Egyptians in the areas of equality, inclusion, participation, education, employment, health, and housing. With the start of this new project we are intensifying our efforts to advance the access of Roma and Egyptians to their rights. It is our experience – which is supported by the experience in other countries in the Balkans – that special support systems for Roma and Egyptians are required to bring about a substantive improvement of their situation.”

Dijamant Pajazitaj, who is a RE mediator for social inclusion and employment and who has gained his experience in Help, has emphasized that his experience showed that mediators for access to social services are extremely important for overcoming the barriers that this community faces.

“It is important to establish contact and gain the trust of the community, which we help to overcome various barriers in dealing with everyday problems and in accessing public institutions. Our role is especially important when it comes to education, employment, social and health care, especially for elderly citizens, as well as for overcoming the language barrier. Cooperation with the institutions became good from the moment when our role in mediation got recognized. I would invite all interested members of the RE community to apply for this training. It is an opportunity to work on improving their own position, but also position of the entire RE community” Pajazitaj stated.

The Regional coordinator has proudly pointed out that Help brought this instrument back in 2014 as part of the assistance program for Roma and Egyptians living in Konik, Montenegro.

“As you can see it has taken already quite some time – but eventually the standardization of the RE Mediators has been completed and they are now a recognized instrument ready to be introduced to all municipalities with sizable populations of Roma and Egyptians. I believe that with the training of some 60 Roma and Egyptians and eventual recruitment of 40 RE Mediators in the areas of health, social affairs and employment real progress can be achieved in the lives of the Roma and Egyptian population in Montenegro.” said Klaus Mock.

“The social inclusion of the Roma and Egyptian communities in Montenegro will be improved by an approach that includes the expansion of the network of qualified associates and it will enable training and work of associates in social inclusion of RE men and women in the sectors of health, employment and social protection in 11 municipalities in Montenegro: Bar, Berane, Bijelo Polje, Budva, Cetinje, Herceg Novi, Nikšić, Pljevlja, Podgorica, Tivat and Ulcinj” said project coordinator Dijana Anđelić, , while presenting the project.

The project is being implemented within the joint Program of the European Union and Montenegro for employment, education and social protection, has a budget of half a million euros, and is financed by the European Commission.

Tatjana Anđelić, the head of the Department for European Integration, has said that the Government of Montenegro is fully committed to the creation and implementation of policies for faster and full social inclusion, as well as to improving the economic position of Roma and Egyptians in our country.

The press conference has been organized in full accordance with the issued measures for protection against the pandemic caused by the COVID19 virus.

Photo-workshop for the preparation of the RE Youth exhibition in the Parliament of Montenegro

2. 11.2020

A photo workshop was held in Podgorica on the first day of November. A group of young high school students from Berane and from the capital prepared for an exhibition of their best works on the topic of human rights. The exhibition will be opened in the Parliament of Montenegro on December 10, 2020.

The exhibition “Human Rights through the Lens of Young Roma and Egyptians”, on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day, will be opened by the President of the Parliament Aleksa Bečić, with the presence of the Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro.

In the next month, young people from Podgorica and Berane will try to express their feelings, thoughts and ideas about human rights as a universal foundation of every humane and civilized society, through fotography and with the instructions of the coach, the famous Montenegrin photographer Dejan Kalezić.

The best photographs in the selection of Dejan Kalezić will be exhibited in the building of the Montenegrin Parliament, and the author of the best photographs will be awarded a professional camera. Afterwards, we will also present the exhibition in several Montenegrin cities.

We think that presenting the best works of young Roma and Egyptians in parliament is an opportunity to convince these young people by example, that their work and efforts are valorized, and that the presence of high-level officials in the highest legislative house of the state is a practical way to show them that they are welcome and equal citizens of Montenegrin society.

The photo workshop was organized within the project “Civil society in action promoting and protecting Roma and Egyptian rights in Montenegro”, which Help is implementing in cooperation with the partner Roma Youth organization “Walk with us-Phiren Amenca”.

The project is funded by the European Union through the EIDHR.

The following are photos from the Sunday workshop:

Successful cooperation on the resocialization of prisoners in ZIKS continue

30. 10. 2020

The cooperation between Help and the Directorate for Execution of Criminal Sanctions (UIKS) in Spuž has been successfully continued. Various programs help to resocialize prisoners and create better conditions for people serving prison sentences. Earlier this week, after months of practical and theoretical training, a final test has been held successfully for inmates who were being trained as excavator operators.

Oral and written examination in front of a Commission ended with all six candidates receiving a certificate as excavator operator.

Assistant Director of UIKS, Husein Nurković is especially pleased with the cooperation because in this way, he says, we facilitate the achievement of a key goal:

“So people can return to civilian life after having served their sentences in the best possible way, with knowledge and experience, and can be resocialized as soon as possible,” said Nurković, while he was awarding certificates to five qualified excavator operators.

“I guess that for you, who have attended this course, this is an extremely important step towards a better tomorrow after the end of your sentence. When you return home, you will have the opportunity to make a living from your work. So, I wish you all the best and I hope this experience and knowledge will help you to return to normal life”, said the Assistant Director of UIKS.

One of the trainees was missing at the graduation ceremony, because his sentence has ended the day before, and he was released from prison immediately after completing the exam. The diploma will be awarded to him later and it will certainly be useful for his future employment as excavator operator, a deficient profession in Montenegro.

The Regional Coordinator of Help, Klaus Mock, said that he was glad about the opportunity to conduct another cycle of professional education for prisoners in UIKS.

“I believe that this will provide you with a better chance in the job market. I am glad that you had the opportunity to gain something good during your stay here. It seems to me that this is something that could turn you into a different direction. I wish you all the best in the future and I congratulate you on successfully passing the test and on the good results you have achieved”.

The President of the Examination Commission, Žarko Borovinić, was especially pleased because one prisoner received the maximum number of points in the written test, which according to Borovinić “confirms the desire of these people to be actively involved in economic and social activities.”

“It is great that the result of the oral test has shown their dedication, but it is even more important to see in practice that they have really learned this craft with dedication.”

Some of the candidates handle the excavator very well and demonstrated during the test that they can practically master every task with it.

Samir Beriša, who reached 100 maximum points in the test, was very thankful on behalf of the five prisoners-participants of the training.

“I want to thank Help, who enabled us to attend this training, to acquire new abilities and to go a step further. We also thank UIKS, which enabled us to participate in the training.”

Training of prisoners for deficit occupations in Montenegro is realized through Help’s project “Support to socio-economic stability in the Western Balkans region 2019-2020” which is funded by the German Government – Ministry of Foreign Affairs, along with ministries and local governments.

The candidates who, through hard work and training, managed to obtain a diploma in a trade that could be useful to them after serving their sentence, attended the event with obligatory masks unavoidable during the coronavirus pandemic. The masks are part of Help’s contributions, sewn in prison and made from a special antibacterial material also provided by Help. Participants have told us, that until today thousands of antibacterial masks could be sewn after a short training.

As part of the assistance during the coronavirus pandemic, Help provided UIKS with a larger amount of disinfectants as well as several tablet devices and talking booths for prisoners. This is of particular importance as prison visits are already prohibited for seven months, since the begin of the pandemic.

Under the project, Help cooperates with UIKS in several ways. We also provided UIKS with a large modern machine for the construction of concrete blocks, which worked at full capacity until last week. Chief Nikola Tanasilović demonstrated that by now, there are around 6,000 pieces of blocks in stock. Tanasilović also showed us a wall around a prison unit, which has been built from the blocks produced with the new block making machine.

In addition to the provision of the block making machine and the excavator, Help has supported the establishment of a modern chicken coop on the farm located within the prison in Spuž.

Although we were primarily visiting for the award of diplomas to the trained excavator operators, we were also looking at the other outcomes of our cooperation with UIKS, as you can see in the photos that follow: telephone booths and building blocks.

How to wholeheartedly fight for human rights using domestic and international institutions

21.10.2020

The fight for endangered rights of a person begins when you feel the need in your stomach to stand up for someone’s or your own protection, said Tea Gorjanc Prelević from the Action for Human Rights (HRA) while she was opening the workshop – capacity building of Roma and Egyptian (RE) NGOs in Montenegro.

Danilo Ćurčić, an expert from Serbia in the field of protection of human rights and especially the protection of minority groups, added that apart from that feeling in the stomach, it is very important to know how and where to protest and who to turn to for help and protection.

At the two-day workshop, organized by Help and the Roma NGO ” Walk with us – Phiren Amenca” with the help of the Human Rights Action (HRA), activists of Roma civil society organizations (NGOs) had the opportunity to learn about the experiences and concrete examples of organizations and groups that deal with the protection of human rights, to share their own experience from previous work and to hear how and in what way they can advocate more successfully for specific goals in the future.

When it comes to the fight of discrimination against the RE population in Montenegro, one of the successes mentioned was the engagement of NGOs and the lobbying with international institutions in the case of the expulsion and almost lynching of Roma families in Božova Glavica near Danilovgrad.

Let us recall that the expulsion of Roma took place after several hundred citizens of Danilovgrad carried out a revenge campaign on the night of 14 to 15 April 1995. An underage girl was allegedly raped by an underage Roma boy from the Božova Glavica settlement. There were 74 Roma people living in the settlement, approximately half of whom were children. The entire settlement was destroyed and burned down, but the Roma managed to escape. The police had warned the Roma that they had to flee, and that they could not protect them.

One of the participants of our workshop was a at that time four-year-old child and says he still remembers that night, and how people did not want to let the Roma get on the bus at the bus station. In any case, eight years later, in 2003, the United Nations Committee against Torture based in Geneva, ruled that the state of Montenegro was obliged to pay a compensation of 6 million Euro to the 65 Roma, who were inhumanely and humiliatingly expulsed from their homes in Božova Glavica.

Several other well-known cases from the region were discussed, some of which ended up in the human rights court in Strasbourg and were positively resolved in favor of the citizens whose rights were violated. One of the cases is renowned in the region, it is the “Sejdić Finci verdict” from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), which until today has not been put into practice.

Namely, Dervo Sejdić and Jakob Finci, citizens of BiH of Roma and Jewish ethnicity, handed over their case against the state of BiH to the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, because the Dayton Agreement (the agreement that ended the war in BiH and that also serves as the Constitution of BiH) does not allow for fulfilment, or violates, one of the Romas’ basic rights – to run for local and state positions in the country. According to the Dayton Agreement, this right is guaranteed only to citizens from the three constituent peoples, namely Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats. The court in Strasbourg ruled in favor of Dervo Sejdić and Jakob Finci. The implementation of the verdict is one of the key conditions for European integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but it is a “par excellence” and not yet resolved political issue, even though Bosnia and Herzegovina is about to hold elections on 15 November 2020.

Trainer Danilo Ćurčić emphasized the importance of knowing all processes, and domestic and international institutions that are accessible for the protection of human rights. But Ćurčić also elaborated, that the goal of the advocacy must be precisely determined before taking up action, through communication with the community, in this case with the RE community.

In the process of defining the goal which is to be achieved, one must take into account the equal representation of the views and opinions of all community members, such as the views of women, children, and not just that of the community leaders; then to determine how to fight for their rights, be it with legal means, a media campaign, seeking support from international human rights institutions, invoking conventions and standards applied in practice; but one should also take care not to do more harm than good to the community in achieving certain goals.

On the second day (21.10.2020), in the practical part of the workshop, an entire new advocacy campaign for better protection of the rights of Roma and Egyptians in Montenegro was designed with the support of the trainer.

The workshop was organized within the project “Civil society in action promoting and protecting Roma and Egyptian rights in Montenegro” which Help implements in cooperation with the partner Roma youth organization “Walk with us – Phiren Amenca” and is funded by the European Union through EIDHR.

Below, we convey the atmosphere from the workshop held at the Voco Hotel in Podgorica:

Roma and Egyptian women in Berane are in a difficult situation and they do not know their rights

15. 10.2020

Roma and Egyptian women (RE) in Berane do not know the corpus of their personal rights, nor do they know how to access the protection and realization of the same, Marijana Blečić who is teaching advisor at the Faculty of Philosophy in Nikšić concluded after a workshop with RE women in this city in northern Montenegro.

The situation in which these women find themselves is quite discouraging.

In a conversation with RE women, our instructor learned that they do not recognize the area of their rights at all, nor do they know the mechanisms of protection or exercise. For example, they do not know what the responsibilities of the Municipality of Berane, the Labor Bureau of Berane and the police are, neither do they know for which rights can they can contact them. All of these, as well as all other problems faced by RE citizens and their families in Berane on a daily basis, were the topics discussed at the workshop organized within the project “Civil society in action promoting and protecting Roma and Egyptian rights in Montenegro” which is funded by the European Commission – European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR).

The 11 participants of the workshop took the opportunity to speak about the very difficult living conditions. The primary problem is the large waste of garbage located in the settlement of Rudeš. However, none of the locals addressed the Municipality or the Public Communal Utility in order for them to remove the garbage, but rather the garbage accumulates and creates difficulties in maintaining the hygiene of homes, but also in general living conditions (unpleasant odor, waste that reaches the entrance to the house, etc.).

According to instructor Bečić, Roma and Egyptians women recognize that the problem could be solved by installation of additional containers and support from Public Communal Utility, which would come for waste on a regular basis, but no one has addressed the authorities for this type of support and solution to the problem.

Also, they point out that the neighbors themselves do not have the same attitude towards maintaining the hygiene of housing and common space (access to households), so they complain about this problem as well, which causes even more problems for those few who have a positive attitude towards it.

The problem, when it comes to hygiene, has worsened with the coronavirus pandemic.

As the women themselves have pointed out, they do not have the means to adequately maintain hygiene (personal, other family members / children, household). Although most of them are recipients of social assistance (MOP), the funds which they have received are not enough to adequately respond to the measures recommended by the NCT (National Coordination Body), so they themselves say that it is no wonder that ‘’there is more corona”, because they cannot respect the recommended measures, and because of that they care about the health of their children.

In the approach of exercising their rights, as well as the support they receive, RE women make big differences between the NGO sector and public institutions, says Mariana Blečić.

RE women state that they have received help from the Red Cross, which they shared in the Riverside neighborhood, but that this is always selective. Namely, they say that there is a significant number of those who have never received help, or mention that large families have received only one aid package, which is not enough. As they said, in their addresses to the Center for Social Work, they encountered constant rejections like: “There is nothing for you here”.

They have highlighted Help, from the organizations whose work they recognize, and from which they have received help. The work of the Health Center and the Elementary School ” Radomir Mitrović” stand out as positive from the public sector.

According to Marijana Blečić, the key problem is that Roma women and Egyptian women in Berane face bad economic conditions and do not recognize different ways and mechanisms to improve the situation.

For example, when it comes to resolving their legal status, none of them recognizes the mechanism of regular reporting to the Ministry of the Interior, and they mentioned the status of their children born in Montenegro, who do not have a resolved status so consequently are not Montenegrin citizens. Also, only one of the participants was registered at the Employment Agency and did not know about the mechanism of regular registration, so she was removed from the records for half a year. She was offered a seasonal job, which she had to refuse due to her distance from her family and her responsibilities to her children.

Blečić also said that four women stated that they would need help with applying to the Labor Bureau (they did not know that they had the right to work as foreigners), but also to do jobs of: cleaning, caring for the elderly, etc.

Also, none of them knew that despite not having completed primary school (only one of the participants has completed primary school in Macedonia whose diploma has not been validated yet, nor does she know that she should do so) professional qualifications, etc. they still have the right to be registered at the Labor Bureau.

As the goal of Help’s project, which we are implementing in cooperation with the partner Roma youth organization “Walk with us- Phiren Amenca”, is to help and empower this population and specially to acquaint them with the rights they can practise, Blečić recommended that there is work to be done on continuous informing of RE women about the corpus of their personal rights as well as the following;

Provide support to RE women on access to rights (assistance with filling in forms, application forms, additional explanations);
Provide support to RE women regarding the completion of primary education, but also the acquisition of professional qualifications that would recommend them for the labor market;
Provide short-term assistance with RE households, primarily hygiene products;
Ensure better cooperation with the Labor Office of Berane, regarding registration and job search without qualification. The informal network of employers should not be excluded, or individuals that they could formed, which could offer the services of RE women (cleaning of houses / apartments, help in rural households, help in caring for the elderly, etc.);
Provide support to RE households on waste disposal in cooperation with public institutions, as well as in the repair of housing in both settlements (Riverside, Peštica).

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The training of women and youth in the north is going according to plan – despite Covid

14.10.2020

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the implementation of the project “Improved access to the labor market for women and youth in the northeast of Montenegro” is being implemented in the best order and without interruption, said Danijela Armuš, coordinator of Help, at the second meeting of the Local Partnership Group for Employment which was held in Berane on Tuesday.

As part of the project that is co-financed by the EU, the additional licensed training for obtaining diplomas has also started, for some of the deficient occupations, for the 15 best participants of on-the-job training. Equipment has been distributed to 10 selected employers, who have “in a way” made a commitment to employ a minimum of 1 person each after on-the-job training.

Armuš has also explained that Help has prepared a proposal for a Memorandum of Cooperation between the representatives of the Local Partnership Group for Employment, so that joint work and meetings would be crowned with a document that would oblige the members of the group to make their contribution in order to encourage the employment.

Ivan Mališić, Help’s consultant on this project, has focused on the “Proposal for improving the business environment in the project area”, as well as on the projects aimed at improving the business sector.

The representative of the municipality of Berane, Tatjana Mališić Delević – has emphasized the support for women’s entrepreneurship, which is being realized by the municipality, and the concrete benefits that women entrepreneurs have through that project. She added that despite this support, there are not enough projects, especially thinking of the business sector, because most companies / employers do not pay their taxes to the state, and therefore are not qualified to apply for support. Also, a big problem is the insufficient capacity of local government representatives in the preparation and implementation of the project. Mališić Delević concluded that in order for the project to be realized successfully, it is necessary for local partners to function very well with each other.

The representative of employers from the company Lim Company LLC, Vlatko Peković, stated that there can be no survival of business without state subsidies. Companies that regularly settle their obligations are exposed to difficulties in doing business. Subsidies from the Ministry of Economy for employees have been introduced in order to preserve social peace rather than to preserve / support entrepreneurship and he made a suggestion that the state should not limit the employers who can receive the subsidy by the number of their employees.

The representative of the municipality of Andrijevica, Marko Marković, sees the lack of motivation of the local population as a problem in employment and as he has said, that “no one wants to work for € 200”. They pointed out that agricultural production could be improved, but they have no protection from the state. The state really should protect domestic products and strive to preserve them.

The representative of the municipality of Petnjica, Amela Ramdedović, pointed out that the municipality is implementing activities aimed at employing women and youth in cooperation with Caritas, as well as number of trainings in order for them to acquire basic job search skills. She pointed out that communication between ministries and local governments should be improved.

According to Ernad Suljević, the municipality of Bijelo Polje has set aside €40,000 to support women’s entrepreneurship, as well as for young people. He pointed out that citizens often abuse the institute of the MOP (material security of families) and that they themselves must be proactive. They also see big problems in the gray economy, unemployed people having no knowledge of regulations, and the functioning of companies in the area of finance. As Suljević says, it is very important to spark a feeling in people who are beginners in business, that they are being supported and that they are not alone.

The representative of the Employment Agency of Montenegro (ZZZCG) office in Bijelo Polje – Slađana Nedović, pointed out that the Agency is making efforts to promote employment, provide training (especially adult education), but that this work is often not adequately noticed, although it has given good results in the labor market.

In order to reduce business barriers, it is necessary to instruct entrepreneurs who are starting their business adventure in all the rights and obligations that they have, and to provide a true picture of how a company should function.

Kada je riječ o obrazovanju odraslih potrebe su nekolike obuke: edukacije višeg nivoa, poput računovodstvenog tehničara i podsticanje složenijih programa, a na obukama je neophodno prisustvo poreskog savjetnika.

When it comes to education of adults, there is a need for several trainings: higher level educations, such as accounting technician and stimulation for more complex programs, and also the presence of a tax advisor is necessary for these trainings.

Help – 25 years of activity in Southeast Europe – Together for tomorrow

12.10.2020

In 2020, Help is celebrating an anniversary – 25 years of activity in Southeast Europe under the motto “Together for tomorrow”.

In the past two and a half decades of work in this region, Help has crossed the path from a humanitarian organization that distributed the first and most necessary aid to the vulnerable in the post-conflict Balkans, to an organization of humanitarian development. Today, we help the most vulnerable categories of the population, displaced and internally displaced persons, the Roma-Egyptian community (RE) as the most vulnerable minority, as well as socially vulnerable citizens through various programs to find long-term solutions for better and more inclusive social status.

On the occasion of 25 years of work and the realization of numerous vital projects, the General Manager of Help, Karin Settele, wrote the following preface in a special brochure on the occasion of the special anniversary.

Dear readers,

Help can now look back on 25 years of work in South East Europe and on a period of the most
intense need caused by violent conflicts, but also on years of hope and successes in sustainable
development.

Unfortunately, reconciliation within and between the individual states in South East Europe remains a challenge, ethnic minorities are excluded, many young people have no prospects, and rapprochement with the EU and its values is proceeding only slowly. In addition to this, the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic are clearly revealing the fragility of these states. It is vitally important that we remain committed to promoting stability in South East Europe and hence to promoting people’s protection, safety and self- determination.

Under the motto of our anniversary, “Together for Tomorrow”, we are therefore calling on states, civil society, business and every individual to stand up for people’s well-being. We can live together in peaceful coexistence only if we take responsibility for each other and act collaboratively.

I would like to express our great thanks to our colleagues who demonstrate their commitment to helping the people in their home countries day in, day out, and are constantly establishing effective partnerships. Last but not least, our thanks go to the beneficiaries who have shared their stories and experiences

with us, and to the local communities who contribute to the success of our projects by working with us. We would also like to thank all our sponsors and supporters. Knowing that we are all working together gives us the courage to continue.

I am delighted to give you an insight into our success story with this brochure and hope you will enjoy reading it.

Your

Karin Settele

The General Manager

The best photos from the participants of the photography workshop

30.09.2020

After a three-day photography workshop for young Roma and Egyptians (RE) which was held in Podgorica, we are publishing photos taken by the participants during the practical work.
The selection was made by the renowned Montenegrin photographer Dejan Kalezić, who was the coach during the training of this group of young people – who have just become high school students.
Let us recall that he told us that “the workshop was very successful and that participants showed a significant level of interest and creativity in photography. I think that they proved that with their works in the practical part.”

Here are the photos:

The first ones that we present to you were made by Adrijan Imeri from Berane:

The following are two photos made by Besart Krasnići from Podgorica:

Elmedina Jašaraj from Podgorica, in the photo above, posed but also photographed portraits and nature:

His colleague from Podgorica posed for Erđan Beriša from Berane for the portrait shots:

Enis Zumberi, who is also from Berane, took the following photo of his friend:

Beriša from Podgorica took a portrait shot of his friend:

Jasmina Beriša in the picture above, who is the golden adviser to the ombudsman, is the author of the following three photos:

Muhamed Ahmetaj from Podgorica recorded the following photo with the camera, one of the ten cameras provided by Help for the workshop:

Krasnići from Podgorica made an interesting focus:

And Sonita Gaši from Podgorica recorded the so-called “close-up”:

Sami Imerija from Berane posed for him inside and outside – in the rain:

Photography workshop, photo gallery and human rights for young Roma and Egyptian

29 . 9. 2020

A photography workshop for young Roma and Egyptians was held in Podgorica from 26 to 28 September 2020, and combined with the topic of human rights.

A group of young high school students from Berane, Nikšić and Podgorica enjoyed three days learning the theory and practice of good photography, as our photo documentation tells.

According to Dejan Kalezić, a well-known and renowned Montenegrin photographer who has had several solo exhibitions at home and abroad, the 15 young participants have been very interested in the workshop.

“I can say that the workshop was remarkably successful and that the participants showed significant interest and creativity in photography. I think they proved this with their works in the practical part. Although the workshop was short, they adopted certain knowledge that will help them in further work. The cooperation with the participants was excellent, they actively participated both in the lectures and in commenting on the photos taken, and I can say that this was a great experience for me as well”.

Dejan Kalezić made a selection of photos the participants took during the practical work, which we will publish separately.

This workshop was attended by the same group that had been trained in the workshop on human rights for future young activists, held earlier this month in Njeguši. We took this opportunity to remind young Roma and Egyptians of the importance of human rights and revise recently learned material, which we believe they will use in their life and work.

For that part of the three-day workshop responsible was Elvis Beriša, Director of the Roma youth NGO Phiren Amenca (“Walk with us”), which is a partner organization of Help in the implementation of the project “Civil society in action – promoting and protecting Roma and Egyptian rights in Montenegro.” The project is supported by the European Commission through the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR).

A photo gallery from the three-day workshop follows and testifies the interest of RE youth in the photography craft.

At the end of each day, the participants of the photo workshop were reminded of some important lessons about human rights with Elvis Beriša from “Phiren Amenca”. They also took an active part in the exercises.

Tomorrow we will share photos that these young people have made themselves, and which were approved by their coach, renowned photographer Dejan Kalezić.

Berane and Bijelo Polje: Roma and Egyptian youth on professional training, they hope for employment and equal treatment in society

24.09.2020.

“This is going to be our permanent commitment. We received the equipment from Help, a high-quality work equipment – chairs and other hairdressing and barber supplies. We plan to open our own salon one day” said Osmani Bajram and Ismet Krasnići, who are undergoing a professional training at the San hair-salon in Berane.

Tight on words, but very hardworking, according to their coordinator and salon owner Nusret Agović.

They also briefly added: “Great, it’s great here and we’re doing great. We work five days a week and have good practice. There is time to learn this craft properly. Although everything is a little bit different because of Covid-19, still, there are customers” Bajram and Ismet said.

Their superior, Nusret Agović, has known the two young men even before they started training at his salon in Berane.

“I can say that they are hard-working fellows, I knew them even before they started working for me, so I did not blindly accept them as associates. I am ever so satisfied, they are obedient, and they try to learn and engage to their maximum. They follow and listen to my advice, so I think they have mastered a lot in a short time. I hope that they will soon be able to work independently in the salon.”

Agović hopes for stabilization of the situation with the pandemic and looks forward to the normalization of work, and then the opportunity may open for him to keep one of the young men at his hair salon.

“If the situation gets stabilized, and by that I mean what happened to us with the COVID-19, if the situation clears up and people start functioning normally, and if our diaspora starts coming more often, there is a real possibility that I will invite some of them to work at my salon. So, there is that possibility also.”

Agović praised Help for providing high quality equipment for Ismet Krasnići and Bajram Osmani, which is an integral part of our program to promote the employability of the Roma-Egyptian population in northern Montenegro.

In September we visited members of the Roma-Egyptian community in Berane and Bijelo Polje who are currently undergoing professional training with practical work.

They are halfway through the training and some of them have received high-quality work equipment within the Help project “Boosting employability – Creating sustainable solutions for the Roma-Egyptian population in the northern region of Montenegro”, which is funded by the Ministry of Finance – Directorate for the Finance and Contracting of EU Assistance Funds (CFCU).

We talked to several employers in Bijelo Polje and they are very satisfied with the workers and with the whole Help project.

Entrepreneur Vladimir Šunjarević from the transport company Veletrans Bijelo Polje, received three people who work as hygienists, and the commitment in their work is especially important at this moment – during the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Our company is engaged in the transport of passengers, and the three people who are with us on the job training are hygienists, engaged in maintenance of vehicle interior, hygiene and disinfection, which is especially important at this time during the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. I can tell you that we are satisfied with their work and engagement. I am very satisfied with how they do their job as well as with the demonstrated responsibility they have towards their work.”

When it comes to keeping one of the three currently engaged trainees, Šunjarević must not make any promises, because currently as he says due to the pandemic, although they are not doing business in the red (in minus), they are certainly doing business “with zero”. But he hopes that if the situation normalizes within a reasonable amount of time, he could permanently keep at least one of the current employees.

Help’s employment project – but at the same time a bridge to overcome the distance

For the integration of the roma-egyptian population, as much as the chances for their employment, their full inclusion in society is also important – and working in the Cultural Center in Bijelo Polje, a very active and recognized public institution, is certainly an opportunity for much more than just work and on-the-job training. This public institution trains two beneficiaries of the project “Boosting employability – Creating sustainable solutions for the Roma-Egyptian population in the northern region of Montenegro”.

This is exactly what the Director of the Library insists on, Edin Smailović, who says that he is delighted with the cooperation with Help precisely in order to help the inclusion of the Roma-Egyptian community.

“First of all, because of the fact that this is a cultural institution, I am glad that members of the Roma-Egyptian population have found their place under our roof. Because, if some institution is invited to help in the process of integration and in the process of overcoming certain prejudices and obstacles, then certainly the institutions of culture and education should be the ones that should be in the first place. Or rather, they should be the ones who should be the leaders in the destruction of all prejudices and barriers that may exist among people.”

Smailović says that he should be honest, as to admit that prejudices towards the Roma-Egyptian population still exist in our society.

“I think that they have been considerably reduced in recent years and I also think that this is one of the ways not only to improve this one dimension, that is, not only to improve the socio-economic situation and their economic empowerment, but I think that it is beneficial for the whole society on the other hand, because it helps us conditionally speaking, to overcome some prejudices that we have towards that population.

The Director of the Library in Bijelo Polje believes that when it comes to permanent employment and the integration of members of the Roma-Egyptian population in general, it should be taken into account at the institutional level.

“Since I am the head of the Library I can say that, e.g. in our library, our literature on our dear fellow Roma people who have lived here with us for centuries is very scarce. Therefore, I think that this is an issue that should be addressed on a much higher level ” Smailović suggested.

Culture is without a doubt an important segment for the integration of every community into the society, especially the minority community.

Another opportunity for young people from the Roma-Egyptian population in the north of Montenegro to get a job and something more is to work in the NGO Multimedia Studio Bijelo Polje, where two young members of the Roma-Egyptian population are being trained. Director Rusmir Osmanović says that Help’s project completely coincides with their work. Multimedia studio, through various projects, works to raise the level of awareness of the citizens of Bijelo Polje towards the problems which their fellow citizens from the Roma-Egyptian population face. According to Osmanović, it is necessary for everyone to work together, and that includes the Municipality of Bijelo Polje in whose jurisdiction the Roma settlements of Rakonje and Strojtanica are, on raising the quality of life of the Roma-Egyptian population.

“That is why we want to integrate the Roma-Egyptian population in every way, young people and children above all. I don’t know if you are aware that the Roma settlement from Rakonja is to be moved to where Strojtanica currently is, but we look at it this way: we do not want Strojtanica to be the only place where only Roma people live, practically ghettoized. Roma people must integrate into society. The majority population must show more flexibility. ”

Enable Roma-Egyptian youth to identify community problems through their work and offer solutions themselves

According to our counterpart in conversation, this project which directly concerns employment and professional training, and within which there are two people currently being trained in the Multimadial Studio, opens an opportunity for these young people to recognize the main problems of their community and possibly offer some suggestions for addressing or initiatives towards local authorities.

“That is why we are specifically trying to empower them in this process to become young journalists. We are already suggesting to them that they should build their own websites, or if they can’t do that, a Facebook page where they will highlight the problems of the Roma. I am convinced that it will reach the listeners and viewers, and eventually the Municipality of Bijelo Polje. As individuals, they say they have not been able to stand out so far – they themselves used to say ‘no one has found job for us’. We want to open their horizons in a different way, so that they themselves have to participate in this. These two young trainees have already started going to certain trainings and seminars, although the situation with the coronavirus has changed everything, but they have already had the opportunity to see Minister Janović (Minister of Sports, Nikola) during the visit… we empower them as much as possible “, Rusmir Osmanović, a long-term activist said.

His plans for the future, precisely in terms of strengthening the Roma-Egyptian community, are ambitious.

“We have a BP media channel and we have a vision to launch a diary in the Roma language for the first time in the North of Montenegro, where they will transmit information from the municipality of Bijelo Polje, but in their mother language. It is also interesting because, as they say, there are differences in the Romani language as well, but above all, the idea itself is important. They have already had the opportunity to write a text for” Novine sjevera”, it is our portal, and their texts can be published there once they are finished.”

Osmanović says that Help’s project proved to be an excellent model for him to continue working, that is, to apply with similar projects to the competent ministries himself, so that they could include an even larger number of Roma-Egyptian children and youth in their activities.

He is convinced that both projects and engagement outside of projects, on what he says is an ordinary human daily schedule, e.g. “to sit together and drink coffee or eat ice cream in a cafe – outside working hours, invite them to join you at a concert, an exhibition or promotion” is of great importance for the integration of the Roma-Egyptian population, as well as through the official forms – workshops, seminars, trainings.

“We must work on making Roma become a modern part of our society, to help the Roma community to integrate into Montenegrin society in a more concrete and attentive way,” said Rusmir Osmanović, based on his many years of experience as a civil activist, presenting a concrete proposal:

“I think that the state should provide scholarships for children from the Roma-Egyptian community, until a critical number of young people from this community integrate into society at the level of integration of everyone else. It is very important to move from the formal towards the concrete, and for them to stop being an essentially lower class in our society – even though they are formally equal with all of us. We have bright examples of course. An office for Roma has been opened in Bijelo Polje and one person works there, but we have to do a little more than purely formal and legally binding procedures – such as opening an office and hiring a Roma and stop there. I think that your project and projects like this contribute to the opening of these topics “, he praised, but also suggested the following:

“I would suggest, for example, in this particular project, wherever it is possible, wherever the Roma-Egyptian citizens want it, we need to help them in order for them to integrate and start working. We would like to see the organization and maybe we will do this ourselves, to try to train young ones from Roma youth to be cameramen, editors – so to give these young people the opportunity to be whatever they want. It is difficult, especially in small communities, but we must do our best to give a chance to these young people to really be anything they want ” Rusmir concluded.

Help, with the financial support of the Ministry of Finance – Directorate for the Finance and Contracting of EU Assistance Funds, provides professional training and on-the-job training with this project, for 37 unemployed members of the Roma-Egyptian community from the northern region. In addition, 10 unemployed Roma and Egyptian from Berane and Bijelo Polje received support – the equipment for work on the place where they are being trained.

Bljana Jovićević

Help and the U.S. Embassy in Montenegro are helping the displaced persons in Berane

23.9.2020

Contribution to the inclusion of displaced and internally displaced persons in the social and economic life of Montenegro is the main goal of the new project of the German organization Help, whose implementation began on 1 September 2020 with the financial support of the U.S. Embassy in Montenegro, through the Julia Taft Fund.

For a total of 15 internally displaced persons this project will provide assistance that will be realized in two ways: through professional training lasting 3 months, and by the end of the project 10 sets of materials / equipment will be delivered, worth an average of $ 1,500 in order to start or expand business activities for generating income for selected beneficiaries.

The focus of the activities will be on displaced and internally displaced persons in Berane, since the northern region of Montenegro is significantly less developed than the central and coastal regions, and thus there are less chances for employment and raising of standard of living. Berane has the second highest unemployment rate in the country, and internally displaced persons have even further limited access to the labor market.

In order to improve the situation in the North, Help realized that it is necessary to encourage entrepreneurial activities. Therefore, as a measure to combat unemployment, it is planned within the project to organize a quality and specialized professional training to enable the redirection of the workforce to different economic sectors. It is also planned to provide support to individuals in their efforts for self-employment and / or support to those who have already established a small business. The goal is to enable them to improve and expand income generating activities.

The donation from the U.S. Embassy in Montenegro for this project is $ 25,000.

The Municipality of Berane will support income generation activities through the engagement of Regional Business Center (RBC) staff.

Better economic opportunities in the Western Balkans

New opportunities for the economic empowerment of the women and youth in the Western Balkans through the pilot project in partnership with Helvetas within Sida’s Regional programme on inclusive economic development

On 1 September 2020, the German organisation Help – Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe signed the Partnership Agreement with the Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation, a Cooperation Partner to Sida, and thus became an Implementing Partner to Helvetas in Sida’s Regional programme on inclusive economic development in Eastern Europe and Western Balkans.

The Help pilot project “Vibrant ICT-BPO sector for better economic opportunities” will support skills, knowledge and intermediation development in the Western Balkans. Replicating and improving successful models from Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the ICT (Information communication and technology) and BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) sectors in Serbia, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Montenegro, the project will lead towards the better functioning of the business services and the supply of skilled workforce as well as the promotion of the regional brand and the BPO sector.

The focus of this pilot is on promoting and strengthening the economic “regional value addition” of the ICT-BPO sector in Serbia, N. Macedonia, Kosovo and Montenegro, building on successful models tested in Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In practice, it means branding the region by stimulating the competitiveness of private sector enterprises and creating a critical mass of skilled workforce of women, young people and other excluded groups to generate more inclusive and sustainable business development.

The core of the pilot project consists of three pillars. The first pillar is private sector enterprises development and growth through ICT tools and transition of SME’s into the digital economy. The second is creation of sustainable models for delivering the demand-driven training packages which mean skills and knowledge development (hard and soft skills) bringing participants up to the industry standard demanded on the market. And last, but not least, the third pillar is the active promotion of the ICT-BPO sector leading to increased investment and diversification in range and quality of services it provides.

On behalf of Help, the Agreement was signed by the Managing Director, Ms Karin Settele and Deputy Managing Director, Mr Timo Stegelmann.

Help is thrilled to embark on this new journey further strengthening the Western Balkans competitive advantages and support to the economic empowerment of the people of the Balkans.

Five-day training for future young activists in Njeguši

21. 9. 2020

Teaching children about the rights guaranteed to them by the Constitution of Montenegro and all international conventions on human rights, how and with whose help to fight for human rights if they are denied to someone, what is discrimination and how to fight it, what constitutes identity, how it is built and developed, what is cultural and historical heritage and how to nurture it, what dangers lurk for children and teenagers during adolescence – are all topics that peer education coaches Jelena Fuštić from Forum-mne and Elvis Beriša from the youth Roma NGO “Walk with us – Phiren Amenca” trained about 15 young Roma-Egyptian (RE) teenagers from Berane, Nikšić and Podgorica who are just about to start high school.

This five-day workshop – summer educational camp for young people was organized by Help and Phiren Amenca held in Njeguši, Cetinje municipality.

The summer camp is part of the project “Civil society in action promoting and protecting Roma and Egyptian rights in Montenegro” that is funded by the European Commission – European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR).

The Roma youth organization “Let’s walk together Phiren Amenca” is Help’s partner in the realization of this project.

Jelena Fuštić, an informal educator from the Forum-mne, says that today everybody has their mouths full of narative about human rights, but when looked under the surface the children do not know what their human rights or obligations are, and its not only them.

“Terminology from that area is quite unadapted, and since children spend most of their time on social networks and various media, they get all the information and hear about inclusion, strategy, constitution and law, but they are all unfamiliar with those terms or are reluctant to research such things, because it does not sound appealing. And as far as formal education is concerned, no matter how much progress we have, it remains at the level of the professor talking, and children only listening to him – it is simply not interesting. As youth workers, people who deal with non-formal education, here we have the opportunity to bring this topic closer to them through various interactive activities, through quizzes, games and more, and transfer that knowledge practically so that they would remember it, in order for this knowledge to be more interesting for them to understand and to stay with them in the right way.”

Elvis Beriša, trainer and CEO of Phiren-Amenca says that he is pleased with the group, especially because of the fact that this is the first time for most of the participants that they have participated in a summer educational camp, and they have adapted quickly.

“I am very satisfied with the group, primarily because our group is quite diverse, primarily because of the fact that most of the participants are for the first time in this type of informal education. We tried to work with them on topics that are most prevalent in their daily lives, to teach them something about their basic human rights that they are not really aware of – the right to proper childhood in the first place, the one which we often forget. The program also builds on topics from everyday life, about which we watched films with them and that we commented on afterwards. The film about street begging was especially interesting for them, they have actively participated in the dialogue and were ready to give their opinions and views”.

Beriša pointed out that interaction with children is especially important to him.

“I am especially glad about the fact that, even if they had or did not have opinions about something, they have developed an opinion and views through conversation and interaction after each presentation, which shows that we managed to bring a certain area closer to them. It is especially important that the participants who were a little more withdrawn at the beginning, became very active, if not the most active through interaction in the meantime.”

It is also very important for Beriša that the teenagers had the opportunity through the workshop to get acquainted with the identity and culture of the Roma through various activities such as organizing a knowledge quiz on the history, language and culture of the Roma.

“The goal of the camp is for them to be the initiators of change one day in the Roma community itself. They are very young, they are at the beginning of high school education and now is the period when they should be influenced in order not to give up formal education and also to slowly prepare them to enter the area of activism in the local community. We expect that we will have a group in the end that will think differently than before on how to recognize and identify certain problems as well as to think about certain solutions.”

According to Beriša, he would be satisfied with the result even if only one person from this group of 15 teenagers gets empowered and motivated to continue further, through formal and non-formal education with some activism in their community.

The children were also very satisfied with what they have heard and learned during the socializing and learning at the summer camp. They are quite ready to continue with this type of education.

As they say, they are especially glad that they have learned everything about their rights, especially about discrimination, dangers of begging and other things.

Edin Šalja from Nikšić told us that he felt great here and that this is his first time at a gathering like this, and that he has learned a lot:

“I have learned about all the rights, and I have also learned how to behave. I learned all about the right to education and upbringing, but also the dangers of child begging. I would like to come to a workshop like this again, it was interesting for me.”

This is not the first time for Elmedina Jašari from Podgorica to participate in non-formal education of this type. She is just starting the first grade of high school – she has enrolled in medical high school, cosmetology course.

“I like workshops like this one a lot, we gain new knowledge but we also get to know new people which is very good, and with them we create new memories and new experiences. I have very good impressions, we get along fine and we managed to organize teamwork. I was especially impressed by the film about begging, about children and their parents in it. I learned about how great the parental responsibility for children really is, even though I knew that before. Of course we had classes on children’s and human rights and I am very pleased that they invited me to this camp.”

Elmedina’s great wish is to become a peer educator herself one day.

“It is my great wish to become a peer educator in addition to the job which I will have in the future. Because when I see peer educators working with us, I’m really happy. I would really like to do that in the future.”

Daut Džugatani is a fifteen-year-old from Podgorica, he graduated from the elementary school “Savo Pejanović” and is now enrolling in the Mechanical School. He says that everything was great for him.

“Everything, everything was great. We have learned a lot. I was especially interested in the topic of discrimination. I would like to participate in more workshops like this, and I would like to become a peer educator one day.”

In addition to our trainers Elvis and Jelena, the golden advisor to the ombudsman Jasmina Beriša spoke about human and children’s rights as well as the institutions they can turn to if they need them, about which we recently wrote a story that you can read here.

Below, we bring you the atmosphere from a five-day peer educational camp in Njeguši.

The Nikšić settlement of Gračanica has been cleared of waste

18. 9. 2020

Cleaning of piles of garbage was organized this week in the settlement of Grčanica in Nikšić. Just before September 19, the International Coastal Cleanup Day, activists of the youth of NGO “Center for Affirmation of the Roma-Egyptian (RE) Population” – CAREP, with assistance from Help and together with the residents of Gračanica, have collected large amounts of waste in the immediate vicinity of their houses.

Help has provided masks, gloves and waste bags, and our mediator Denisona Beriša also took part in the cleanup action. The municipality of Niksic has assisted in this action by providing trucks and other equipment to transport the garbage collected to the landfill site.

The intention of this action was to send the message that it is very important to maintain clean the environment in the areas in which we live. A large number of young people and children from the settlement gladly joined this action.

The executive director of CAREP, Nardi Ahmetović, who also participated in the collection of waste in Gračanica, points out that the action was organized to clean the settlement and the river in honor of the International Coastal Cleanup Day.

“It is very important that the residents are involved and responsible for what is happening around their backyards and that they take care of the environment. In that way, they contribute themselves to the preservation of nature, health and even the climate in which we live.”

The cleaning of Gračanica was organized within the project “Civil society in action promoting and protecting Roma and Egyptian rights in Montenegro” which is funded by the European Commission – European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR). In this project, Help is a partner of the Roma youth organization “Let’s walk together Phiren Amenca”.

Help is starting a new project – mediators will help the inclusion of Roma and Egyptians

9.2020

Today, Help begins the implementation of a new project “Social inclusion of Roma and Egyptians with the mediation of inclusion associates”, funded by the Ministry of Finance of Montenegro – Directorate for Finance and Contracting of the EU Assistance Funds (CFCU).

Both Help and the Municipality of Podgorica have been working successfully for some time to develop the role of agents for inclusion / mediator. Montenegro has successfully systematized the role of RE mediators in health care in Podgorica, as well as the role of mediators in employment, health care and social protection through pilot projects in three municipalities.

The aim of this new project is to extend this successful model to all areas that will encourage and expand the inclusion of Roma and Egyptians (RE) in Montenegrin society, especially in the field of basic public services.

Help mediators will provide support to RE citizens in the Montenegrin institutions of the system to facilitate their access to public services.

At least 60 potential mediators are expected to participate in the accredited training program. At least 40 trained mediators will be engaged in state institutions to work with RE communities and public services will be provided within the framework of the project for 12 months. It is expected that the RE mediators will be taken over by the respective state institutions after the end of the project.

In the municipalities of five coastal regions, three central and three northern regions, mediators will mediate for RE citizens in the areas of employment mediation, provision of health services and mediation in social protection.

In addition, the aim of this project is to establish and develop a RE mediation network and to develop and transfer best practices in mediation to improve the social inclusion of the RE population.

In light of the limited experience of most national institutions in Montenegro in working with mediation services for RE, this project will prepare national institutions to work with mediators from the RE population and provide support to mediation programs in their services in a sustainable way.

It is also planned to organize a capacity building based on anti-discrimination approaches for professionals in national institutions.

National institutions providing health care, employment and social care services will be motivated and become sensitive to work with RE mediators and support mediation in RE communities in providing their services by thematically strengthening anti-discrimination capacity.

The project will be implemented in a period of 18 months, from September 2020 to February 2022.

Equipment for women and youth in the North for professional on the job training

26.08. 2020

In order to stimulate the employment of young people and women in the north of Montenegro, within the project “Improved access to the labor market for young people and women in the Northeast of Montenegro” Help has distributed the equipment to beneficiaries of this program who are being trained during practical work.

This project that we are implementing in cooperation with the municipalities of Berane and Bijelo Polje is financed by the Ministry of Finance – Directorate for Finance and Contracting of the EU Assistance Funds.

Help organized professional on the job training for a total of 40 unemployed people, women and youth in seven municipalities, mainly in the north of Montenegro, which began on June 15th.

Unemployed women and young people in Berane, Petnjica, Andrijevica, Bijelo Polje, Rožaje and Plav were given the opportunity for on-the-job training, where a total of 18 employers will train 30 unemployed people, while five employers in Podgorica and Danilovgrad will train 10 people.

In addition to special certified training, some of them have also received work equipment.

Equipment for professional on the job training has been distributed in Bijelo Polje and Berane

25. 08 .2020

Beneficiaries of Help’s on the job training program, for the north of Montenegro were given equipment for work in Bijelo Polje and Berane.

This is a project ” Boosting employability – Creating sustainable solutions for RE population in the Northern region of Montenegro “, which is funded by the Montenegrin Ministry of Finance, Directorate for Finance and Contracting of the EU Assistance Funds (CFCU).

The goal of this training, which is realized in partnership with private employers from Berane and Bijelo Polje, is to improve the level of professional qualification of Roma and Egyptians in these municipalities in the north of the country and enable easier and better access to the labor market in Montenegro.

Of the 37 beneficiaries of the RE unemployed training programs in the north, ten of them were given the opportunity for certified training and employment, and as a result Help has provided them with work equipment.

Three contracts have been signed with RE organizations for the empowerment of the RE population

10. 08. 2020

At the beginning of August, Help has signed three contracts for a small grant scheme within the project “Civil society in action promoting and protecting Roma and Egyptian rights in Montenegro ” with three Roma-Egyptian (RE) NGOs.

We signed a contract with the Association of Egyptians from Tivat, for the realization of the project “Together for gender equality and a better position of Egyptians in Tivat”. The goal is to contribute to the improvement of the position of women of the Egyptian population in the municipality of Tivat, i.e. to improve the understanding of women’s rights among the Egyptian population and their empowerment through various planned activities. The focus of the project is on better information and knowledge of the rights of Egyptian women, especially the younger generation, about their rights through the education system, primarily about their rights and gender equality, and the traditional roles, prejudices and stereotypes they face in their community and society as a whole.

The contract with CAREP – the Center for Affirmation of the RE Population from Nikšić was signed for a project called “Youth RE Club – we talk freely about our rights”. The aim of the project is to strengthen individual capacities and skills of young people in the Roma-Egyptian population through a specific training method: through the “Human Library” for open access to dialogue with others regarding the promotion and protection of personal rights, which will eventually result in their formal gathering at the Youth RE club in which they will continue with activities. It is planned to connect with the schools where the largest number of RE children attend education and support the connection with the youth of the majority population through participation in public events, such as the promotion of the “Human Library”.

The third accepted project also refers to the strengthening of the RE community through the strengthening of cultural identity.

The NGO “Roma Movement” in Bijelo Polje will implement the project “Cultural integration of Roma men and women in the municipality of Bijelo Polje”. The goal of this project, within the small grants scheme, is to build and strengthen Roma culture and Roma identity in Montenegro, improve the promotion and presentation of Roma culture and traditions in Bijelo Polje municipality, with the ultimate task of forming a Roma Club of Culture (RoCK). The Roma movement has a partner for the realization of this project – the non-governmental association “Club of Culture” from Bijelo Polje.

Project coordinator Dijana Anđelić expects the successful implementation of all three proposed projects, whose ultimate goal is to strengthen the capacity of RE NGOs to improve the status and specific conditions of development and integration of Roma and Egyptians into Montenegrin society.

“We also expect that in the future supported RE NGOs will be able to independently implement important projects essential for the social, economic and cultural inclusion of the RE population, which is one of the most vulnerable in Montenegro and the region,” said Dijana Anđelić, and she added that Help will be there to assist them in all phases of the implementation of the proposed activities.

For the scheme of small grants within the project “Civil society in action promoting and protecting Roma and Egyptian rights in Montenegro”, which is funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by Help in partnership with the Roma youth organization “Walk with us – Phiren Amenca” there were nine applications from RE NGOs with different projects to strengthen the position and rights of the RE population in Montenegrin society. The commission selected the three projects mentioned above, the implementation of which began with the signing of the contract.

Help and the German government are distributing another 325 food packages to Rožaje, Berane, Nikšić and Podgorica

10.07 .2020

The distribution of 200 food packages and 200 bags of flour began in Rožaje on Friday, for the most endangered families in this city which is currently affected the most by the coronavirus pandemic in Montenegro. This aid, which is funded by the German government, will be distributed to socially disadvantaged families, some of whom are in self-isolation, as well as Roma-Egyptian (RE) families in Rožaje.

With the assistance from the Red Cross, Help will also distribute 75 food packages and the same amount of flour to RE families in the Riversajd settlement in Berane.

In addition to the abovementioned, Help mediators will deliver another 50 packages to the most vulnerable RE families in Podgorica (30) and Nikšić (20), who asked for help.

The total value of the donation of 325 food packages, which is financed by the Federal Government of Germany is about 6,600 Euros.

This aid will be distributed in coordination with the Montenegrin Red Cross, i.e. their regional units in Rožaje and Berane which became common practice since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, in accordance with the recommendations of the National Coordination Body (NCB) in order to assist those affected by the new coronavirus.

Help and the German government are continuously providing aid within the project “Support to socio-economic stability in the Western Balkans region 2019-2020”, to the most vulnerable categories of the population and the most vulnerable groups in Montenegro since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

In addition to food and hygiene supplies, as well as packages for babies, in the past three months we have donated disinfectants, gloves, masks, 120 smartphones with the internet packages for the program #learn from home for children whose families are in poor financial condition, and 75 tablets – also with the internet packages, to several public institutions caring for children without parental care, elderly homes and the Directorate for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions (UIKS).

Help has donated 100 pairs of football boots for RE children

7 July 2020.

Ribnica Football Club organized a “Diversity Tournament” (Turnir različitosti) in Podgorica for children of the Roma-Egyptian (RE) population. Thanks to the financial support of the European Union and in cooperation with the partner Roma organization “Walk with us – Phiren Amenca”, Help has provided 100 pairs of football boots for RE children.

Boys who train in FC “Ribnica” as well as other children who are football fans have been split into several teams and had fun playing football on one of the closed fields in the Podgorica settlement of Masline. Unfortunately, it had to be done without the presence of the audience in accordance with the measures of the National Coordination Body (NCB) which were made in order to fight the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19.

In addition to the coaches and organizers, we from Help were present there, and the Regional Coordinator Klaus Mock presented and handed out medals to the boys.

We hope that 100 pairs of donated football boots will help RE children to enjoy the charms of “the most important secondary thing in the world“ together with their peers from non-Roma families.

We donated these football boots within the project “Civil society in action promoting and protecting Roma and Egyptian rights in Montenegro ” during which we are also promoting women role models. The project is funded by the EU, and is implemented by Help and the Roma youth organization “Walk with us – Phiren Amenca”.

In the photos that follow you can see the atmosphere from the tournament, the awarding of medals as well as the presentation of football boots.

900 baby packages distributed in 17 municipalities

3.07 .2020

In cooperation with the Red Cross of Montenegro, Help in 17 Montenegrin municipalities has completed the distribution of 900 packages for babies for the most vulnerable category of the population, the Roma-Egyptian (RE) population and social cases.

Packages contain baby food, diapers, skin cream, wet wipes, semolina and porridge, are distributed in Berane, Niksic, Bijelo Polje, Bar, Kotor, Cetinje, Ulcinj, Tivat, Budva, Tuzi, Petnjica, Pljevlja, Podgorica, Herceg – Novi, Rožaje, Plava and Gusinje.

Help is implementing aid for the coronavirus pandemic as part of a regional project funded by the German government: “Support to Socio-Economic Stability in the Western Balkans 2019-2020.”

Stimulus to connecting women and youth with employers in the north of Montenegr

07. 2020

The goal of Help’s project “Improved access to the labor market for young people and women in the Northeast of Montenegro” is to train and employ as many young women and men and increase their capacities so that they can offer themselves to employers as a quality and professional workforce.

Improving the skills of women and youth, developing employment capacities, improving the business environment, creating budget lines for grants for young people and encouraging entrepreneurship and self-employment, were the topics of the first meeting of the Working Group of Local Employment Partnerships, held in Berane under the sponsorship of Help.

The proposal for the improvement of the business environment needs to be additionally considered, since there are already tax reliefs and other reliefs that have been introduced both at the local and national level, for stat-up businesses. It was also pointed out that there are legal restrictions of local governments for such a proposal.

It was stipulated that it is necessary to determine exactly what the benefits are, from which obligations start-ups have already been exempted, and to see if there is room for improvement. In order to consider this proposal, as an action plan, at the next meeting of the Local Working Group, it is necessary to have representatives of the Ministry of Finance of Montenegro and representatives of the secretariats from local governments which are dealing with this topic (finance secretariats).

The representative of the municipality of Bijelo Polje pointed out that their administration has intensified their activities regarding the support of employment of young people and women, through projects implemented by the municipality, and that there is considerable enthusiasm for creating businesses. Also, it is necessary to transfer the positive experiences from Bijelo Polje to other municipalities in which the project is being implemented.

When it comes to creating municipal budget lines for non-refundable financial support for young people and women, it was emphasized that this activity already exists in some project municipalities but only for women entrepreneurs, not for young people. It was also concluded that additional work and consultations are needed with those representatives of the municipalities that are in the project area but do not have this budget line introduced, in order to determine whether the preconditions exist for the introduction of this type of support.

The Director of the Regional Business Center Rudeš in Berane, Nebojša Babović, pointed out that the problem when it comes to the encouraging self-employment is the lack of motivation and lack of interest of citizens (young people / women) from the region covered by this project to embark on a business adventure, i.e. the problem is the lack of entrepreneurial enthusiasm.

Special attention is being paid to business ideas in the field of agriculture, which are being discussed about a lot, but there are no concrete results / businesses, i.e. there is no increase in processed products obtained from agricultural products.

The proposal is to focus more attention and support on already existing successful businesses.

Srđa Aković, a private entrepreneur from Berane, pointed out the existing problem of business viability, especially through the difficulty of procuring additional working capital, which according to him the system does not enable.

As part of Help’s project “Improved access to the labor market for young people and women in the Northeast of Montenegro”, which is part of the joint EU and Montenegro Program for Employment Education and Social Protection which is co-financed by the European Union, Help has organized on-the-job training for a total of 40 unemployed persons, women and youth, in seven municipalities, mainly in the north of Montenegro, which began on 15 June.

Unemployed women and youth in Berane, Petnjica, Andrijevica, Bijelo Polje, Rozaje and Plav were given the opportunity for on-the-job training, where a total of 18 employers train 30 unemployed persons, while five employers in Podgorica and Danilovgrad train 10 people.

The project determines that Help will support the participation in training of all candidates with 200 Euros per month. Unemployed persons who participate in vocational training will have the opportunity to improve the necessary knowledge and skills through defined on-the-job training and offer themselves to employers for long-term employment.

The project also determines a set of other activities aimed at facilitating the employment of women and youth, for which the first meeting for the establishment of local employment partnerships was held, and it is planned to create an action plan in order to harmonize local needs and alleviate inequalities during employment.

The second component of the project consists of activities that is aimed at creating links between relevant partners in the local community, which can contribute to better matching needs and demand, reducing inequalities related to employment and unemployment, all in order to improve local employment partnerships.

The working group of the local employment partnership consists of representatives of six municipalities, representatives of regional units of the Employment Agency from the North, the representatives of Regional Business Center of Berane, representatives of employers and others.

A Memorandum of Cooperation will be signed between all parties.

It is planned to create an Action Plan for Local Partnership for Employment in accordance with the national strategic framework during several working meetings, in order to strengthen the local economic development and to find the best possible solution for employment in the north-east of the country.

The idea is to propose new measures and projects aimed at activating, integrating and self-employment of various target groups in the labor market.

The action plan will be based on the following:

Preventive measures, adapted for companies and employers;
Measures intended for special target groups (long-term unemployed, persons with disabilities, youth and women);
Subsidized measures for job creation for hard-to-employ groups;
Measures that provide support for start-ups and that promote entrepreneurship in the region.

Through various trainings for working group members, this project will strengthen capacities among local actors and improve their ability to work in strengthening local employment partnerships.

Help and the German government are distributing baby packages in 17 municipalities

23.06.2020

Distribution of 900 baby packages has begun in 17 Montenegrin municipalities for the most vulnerable population, the Roma-Egyptian (RE) population and social cases.

The packages contain baby food, diapers, skin cream, wet wipes, grits and porridge, and will be distributed in Berane, Nikšić, Bijelo Polje, Bar, Kotor, Cetinje, Ulcinj, Tivat, Budva, Tuzi, Petnjica, Pljevlja, Podgorica, Herceg-Novi, Rožaje, Plava and Gusinje.

In addition to the baby packages which are being distributed, last Friday, June 19 Help has delivered gloves, masks and other disinfectants to the Directorate for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions (UIKS) in Spuž, as well as special material for making special resistant face masks -felt. The prisoners will be making masks from that material in the UIKS workshops.

Help is implementing this aid distribution because of the coronavirus pandemic as part of a regional project funded by the German government: “Support to socio-economic stability in the Western Balkans region 2019-2020.”
Assistance is being distributed with the help of Montenegrin Red Cross activists.

The packages have already been distributed in Berane and Bijelo Polje.

The aid of Help and the German Government in the form of disinfectants, gloves and masks as well as materials for making special masks was handed over to UIKS last Friday.

Help contributed to the joy of RE graduates in Podgorica

23. 06. 2020

On Monday evening, the graduates of the elementary school “Božidar Vuković Podgoričanin” have marked the end of their primary education and their transition to a new phase of education and life.
Help has helped 28 Roma-Egyptian (RE) graduates so they can enjoy this traditional gala dinner.

This help for RE graduates is part of the Help action within our project “Civil society in action promoting and protecting Roma and Egyptian rights in Montenegro” which is funded by the EU, and implemented by Help and Roma youth organization Walk with us – Phiren Amenca.

Last week, the Berane RE graduates also celebrated their graduation, and we also helped them with this solemn occasion.

We wish the graduates a happy continuation of their education and growing up, and the photos that follow will show how the children enjoyed them last night with school principal Ljubinka Nedić and professors.

School principal Ljubinka Nedić addressed her former students with a message in the middle of the evening, and then the celebration continued.

RE children from Berane, Podgorica and Nikšić on peer education training

22.06.2020

Pool of feelings, my mask, hot fries of emotions, controlling emotions, advice for peers, tell me what you see, I`m telling you a story, circles, peacekeepers – watch out for prejudice, I say it in a moderate tone and you say it loudly, we act and resolve conflicts, my motto, everyone has their own view, are some of the titles of the exercises through which 16 Roma-Egyptian (RE) children in Nikšić learned peer education last weekend, thanks to instructors Marijana Blečić and Dragan Vujošević as well as their guests.

Through learning and trough imagined situations children from Berane, Podgorica and Nikšić have learned on concrete examples how to recognize prejudices, discrimination, how to control emotions, how to respect diferences and how to respect others, their opinions and attitudes, how to socialize and how to resolve conflicts.

A three-day workshop in Nikšić for RE children was organized within the Help project ” Civil society in action promoting and protecting Roma and Egyptian rights in Montenegro” funded by the European Union, and implemented in cooperation with the Roma NGO “Walk with us Phiren Amenca”.

We convey part of the atmosphere from the workshop via photos.

The participants, together with the instructors, determined the rules of the workshop and the rules of work:

Red and blue emotions were discussed:

There were a few different moods and different situations:

Unemployed Roma and Egyptians from the North of Montenegro started on-the-job training

15. 06. 2020

39 unemployed members of the Roma-Egyptian (RE) population from the North of Montenegro will start training at work today for 19 employers, after which in addition to improving their knowledge, they will eventually get the opportunity for unlimited employment.
Agreements between the three parties, between the unemployed, employers and Help were signed on June 11th and 12th, and so 26 men and 13 women began working on Monday, 15 June 2020. For the duration of the professional training the unemployed will be supported by Help in this process with 200 euros per month.
This is Help’s project “Improving employability – Creating sustainable solutions for the RE population in the northern part of Montenegro”, which is funded by the Ministry of Finance – Directorate for Finance and Contracting of the EU Assistance Funds.
“In the coming months we expect the start of licensed training for ten candidates, and the distribution of equipment to those candidates who will continue working after the training,” said project coordinator Neda Sindik.

As a teaching assistant Elma Šahman has a major influence on RE children regularly going to school

Elma Šahman is 32 years old, lives in Bijelo Polje and has been teaching assistant for Roma-Egyptian (RE) children from the first to fourth grade at Pavle Žižić elementary school in Njegnjevo for six years.

She loves working with children whom she visits regularly during the coronavirus epidemic and the Ministry of Education program #Learnfromhome, brought them homework and helped them study at home. Due to the material status of their parents, not all Roma-Egyptian children were able to take part in the online teaching program. Therefore, under the new circumstances, Elma is a teaching assistant who visits children while adhering to distance rules and individually helps each child who needs support.

When she was four, Elma went to Germany with her family and stayed there until the ninth grade. When she returned to Bijelo Polje, she was faced with the problem of learning the language so that she could continue her school education. Complications and early school leaving followed, and then she returned to the education sector with her work.

“It was not easy and I missed a lot of things, but there is always someone who is willing to help you. I have had the support of my school from the start. The headmaster Olivera Markovic is a great support for me. From the beginning she gave me the right guidelines and was always ready to help, and this also applies to the others at school. I would also like to highlight Professor Gordana Prebiračević Đurović, who is a great support and help in continuing my education and training. ”

From the beginning, she worked well with everyone in the “Pavle Žižić” school, with teachers and educators, everyone had always helped and supported her. Elma Šahman emphasizes that a lot has changed in her community in the past ten years.

“Ten or more years ago, it was not the case that the RE population had the support we have had in recent years when it came to access to institutions, education and other things. For many members of the RE population continuing education when there was an interruption in secondary school was not possible without payment, often high tuition fees for us. Today there are different types of support from different sides. The situation really changes for the better.

As Elma notes, a lot has changed institutionally, but it is still important that there are as many people as possible who are genuinely interested in the well-being of the Roma-Egyptian community and who are willing to work with and support them.

“It is the kind of support I have, as I said, but this support is needed by everyone, I would say especially when it comes to progress in education, because that is the key to everything.”

Elma Shahman does not set long-term goals, but for many reasons she goes step by step, but she says she would like to continue working with children.

“I would like to continue working with children because it is a great pleasure for me to help them every day as they progress. It is really a great pleasure, especially when you see that more children of your people are making progress every day and you are there to help them along the way. It is a great pleasure to see that more and more RE children go to school every day and that not everything ends in elementary school. ”

A lot is changing both in terms of regular school attendance and in terms of acquiring knowledge that will one day pay off, which is particularly important.

“Because it is slowly becoming clear that the RE population and young generations can and must do a lot more. In contrast to the past, they are now working not only to get a formal paper about their school leaving certificate, but also that they really do learn something with every step. In the past, it was not uncommon for Roma children to go to school and finish school, for example, not even learning the basics – reading and writing correctly, which of course made it impossible for them, among other problems, to continue their education or to get a job other than garbage disposal and the like. This is changing now too. The priority, of course, is that all Roma children are enrolled and go to kindergarten and then to school, but now it is essential that they really learn something and achieve results that make it easier for them to continue their education and get a better job. ”

Bijelo Polje has two settlements inhabited by the Roma-Egyptian population, Rakonje and Strojtanica.

According to Elma Šahman, who has been a teaching assistant for children from first to fourth grades for six years, the majority of members of the RE community are now sending children to school, all in Rakonje, while a small part of the Strojtanica community, she says, because of the really bad material circumstances, says they cannot send them to school regularly because there is no school transport.

Now that there are teaching assistants for Roma children, parents send their children to school with much more enthusiasm than before.

“Parents are confident that we will always be there to help children overcome obstacles they may face, both due to a possible language barrier and for other reasons, such as problems with other children and the like. I’m also open to collaboration for my part. It happens to me that parents call me and say that they can’t prepare their children for school and then ask me to get them. The same goes for children, who can call me as soon as they have a problem. It’s really not difficult for me, we have built a relationship of trust and progress can be seen. Transport, on the other hand, is a major problem for some Roma students to get to school. It is said that a permanent solution for transportation is being sought, but we are still waiting and time is passing, “says Elma.

Based on her personal experience, she says that the institute of teaching assistants for RE children is really important and necessary and delivers good results. The problem in her case is that the current law provides that a teaching assistant is in the Ministry of Education’s budget if it meets the norm to support 70 students; Elma doesn’t have that many children – her work to date has been financed through various projects.

In some Montenegrin schools and municipalities, teaching assistants are an essential part of the education system. She hopes that this practice will change, i.e. the norm for the number of children will decrease and that she and her colleagues who are committed to the inclusion of Roma-Egyptian children will continue their important work more relaxed.

We are working on the portrait of Elma Šahman as part of the project “Civil society in action to promote and protect the rights of Roma and Egyptians in Montenegro”, in which we promote role models for women. The project is funded by the EU and carried out by Help and the Roma youth organization Walk with us – Pyrenean Amenza.

On-the-job training for 40 women and young people in the north and hope for a permanent job

10-11-12. June 2020

A total of 40 unemployed, women and young people, will start professional training in seven municipalities, mainly in the north of Montenegro. This is a Help project entitled “Improved access for women and young people to the labor market in northeastern Montenegro”, which is funded by the European Union.

The project focuses on less developed communities in northeastern Montenegro, where unemployment is a hot topic. The unemployment rate in this part of the country is almost six times higher than in the coastal region and about three times higher than in the central part.

Unemployed women and young people in Berane, Petnjica, Andrijevica, Bijelo Polje, Rozaje and Plav have the opportunity to complete on-the-job training, in which 18 employers train 30 unemployed, while five employers in Podgorica and Danilovgrad train 10 people.

Savo Vesovic, one of the participants in the vocational training within the project, hopes that he will become a driving instructor after completing the training at the “Victoria” driving school.

“This is a beginning that I expect a lot from. I can say that I have been satisfied so far and I hope that in the end I will be happy with my training and work.” I used to work in stores and the like occasionally, but I hope this is an opportunity that I will take seriously and that will bring me a permanent job. “Savo has graduated from high school – he is a road technician, but he hopes that he will be one of the 14 successful ones and at the end of this training will receive a certificate as a driving instructor.

“My high school diploma, a message from the” Victoria “driving school that they need driving instructors, helped me to decide on this training, and I hope that participating in this project will bring me stabilization and a permanent job,” says Savo Vesovic.

Alen Korać from Art Home, who is working with us on such projects for the second time, says that he is very grateful to Help and that we are helping the economy and the unemployed by working in this area, one of the main problems to connect and overcome – the training of employees, which has long been one of the main problems for his company as well as for others.

“Given the excellent experience so far, we applied to Help again. In addition to an excellent employee, we went through such a project and received additional equipment to support the training of this candidate. This person is already an important factor in our company, a serious employee and the person now has a permanent position. I hope that through this project we can write a similar story and continue the successful cooperation, “said Korać.

As part of this project, the company “Art Home” accepted two candidates for the training. “This time we selected two candidates for the training. We actually need a lot more workforce, but the current options are that we only selected two. We already have qualified employees in the company who help new candidates do a good job training, and of course we requested some additional equipment as part of this project that would make their training a lot easier. ”

The two unemployed candidates who are trained at “Art Home” can get a permanent position at the end of the training, but that depends primarily on them.

“We have a great need for a qualified workforce. We could currently offer ten more specialists in the trades for which we applied, upholsterers, tailors, carpenters, model builders – all of these are occupations for which we have a job. ”

Slavica Adamović, a person with a disability, has gotten in the company “Zlatne ruke” the opportunity for on-the-job training.

“I am very grateful to my employer who made it possible for me to take part in this Help project. Incidentally, I am a confectioner by profession and have been unemployed for a long time. During the training we will work on the production of HTZ devices (occupational safety equipment) and I hope that during this training I will improve my previous knowledge and skills. I also hope that Help will provide us with equipment for the training process as part of the project, and I expect that I will improve my previous knowledge in this area and that the employer will hire me permanently after the training. ”

We asked Ms Adamović how important it is for her, as a person with a certain degree of disability, that her employer offers her an opportunity for training and work, which is not a common practice in Montenegro.

“This opportunity is very important to me. I also have a child who is a student, so permanent employment would help me a lot in funding my child’s education. It is also important to me to get involved a little in society and not to sit in the house all day because I’m disabled. ”

The project provides that Help supports the participation of all candidates in the training with 200 euros per month. Unemployed people who take part in vocational training have the opportunity to improve the required knowledge and skills through defined training in the workplace and possibly recommend themselves to employers for long-term employment. Training begins on Monday June 15th.

The project also envisages a number of other activities designed to facilitate the employment of women and young people. There are plans to build local employment partnerships, draw up an action plan to reconcile local needs and reduce employment inequalities.

The total value of the project carried out by Help in partnership with the municipality of Berane is € 170,000 and is financed by the Montenegrin Ministry of Finance – Directorate for Financing and Procurement of EU Aid.

A press conference was held at the regional business center on Wednesday, June 10, at the signing of the agreement on workplace training in Berane.

Agreements between the three parties were signed in Berane on Wednesday and Thursday, between Help, the unemployed who start training on the 15th of June and the employers, who give them the opportunity to train and possibly get a permanent job.

Ten more unemployed people from the municipalities of Podgorica and Danilovgrad signed an agreement on the start of training on Friday.

Sanja Selimović: She is setting her goals and achieving them one by one

09.06.2020

Sanja Selimović is a 22-year-old assistant for inclusion of Roma and Egyptians in the kindergarten „Duško Basekić – Sunce“ in Bijelo Polje; in the coming period she will be part of Help’s program for improving the employability of the Roma-Egyptian (RE) population in the north of Montenegro.

Today we present one of the positive examples of young and ambitious Roma women who fight for and win their equal place in society, something that is not always favorable and open to the RE minority, although Sanja says for herself that she did not face open discrimination. On the contrary, many had helped her.

She says that she loves working with children and that her experience of working in a kindergarten, both in her hometown of Bijelo Polje and in Germany where she lived with her family on two occasions, seems to have determined her future.

She is currently an assistant in the kindergarten for RE children, but her goal is to become an educator, although she still has a few steps to go towards that.

The two stays Germany during her childhood caused Sanja’s formal education to be interrupted and continued for several times, which is why she is still in the final year of graduation. But that doesn’t discourage her.

“I plan to enroll in college, but everything must go one step at a time. That is the goal I set for myself and I have to try to achieve it. Because, regardless of my experience and work in kindergartens here and abroad, whenever I wanted to achieve something more, i.e. to apply for additional training or to obtain additional certificates, the question of formal education would always arise. That is why I set this goal for myself and that is my main motive. ”

Since she spent a total of five and a half years in Germany on two occasions during those times, and at one time even worked as an assistant teacher in a German kindergarten, Sanja speaks German well, but she has no formal confirmation for that either.

“I worked in a multiethnic kindergarten in Germany and it was a wonderful experience – that is when I realized that that job was well-suited for me. They issued me a certificate that I worked as a kindergarten assistant. Upon my return I officially translated that document in Berane, which enabled me to start volunteering here. Now, thanks to Help’s program, I will go achieve an additional level of professional training “, says Sanja Selimović.

“Working with children relaxes me in every way, playing, drawing, learning, singing, and children also like to hang out with me, not only Roma children but everyone else. In addition, it means a lot to me that an increasing number of parents of the RE population send their children to kindergarten, precisely because of my role as an assistant educator. I am glad that they have confidence in me and that they belive that their children will be safe and get the necessary support from me, so that they feel more comfortable. ”

She grew up in a family of nine, but only three of them remained with their parents. She says that the full support of her parents and their insistence on her getting an education was crucial to her life path, which is not always the case with the RE population for a variety of reasons.

“In one period of my childhood, when I didn’t want to go to primary school, my mother even forced me to go,” Sanja recalls with a smile, and she hopes that if all her plans come true she will be an educator and remain to live in her hometown.

“It is a difficult situation here when it comes to salary and social status, but on the other hand I think that you can still live here. I had the opportunity to study and work abroad, and when everything is added and subtracted, it’s quite similar, when you work, you can live here nicely. ”

During her activism, she always recommends to her peers as well as those younger than herself that they “never give up on their goals or dreams, that they should always work hard and fight for the goal they set for themselves, just like me.”

As she says, one of the key problems in the RE community, especially among young girls, is the lack of a sense of freedom.

“I am both free and communicative, which allows me to socialize more easily, while a large number of Roma girls and women are often ashamed for several reasons: because they are Roma, because they think that some people have prejudices against us. There is no discrimination here but from time to time some people show it, which affects their feeling of inferiority and further discourages them.”

When I expressed interest in her observation that there is no discrimination here, she said that:

“As I said, out of 100 people, one discriminative person can be found, but I personally have not experienced or been exposed to any kind of discrimination ever since my earliest school days. On the contrary, I have always had support and encouragement.”

An increasing number of young people, especially girls, are now continuing their secondary education after primary school and they want to get an education and fully integrate into the wider community, which was not the case before. But this is still not enough, she said. That is perhaps only half of the young members of the RE population, although she is certain that the key to everything is education and the acquisition of skills and knowledge that will guarantee a better life.

We are working on the portrait of Sanja Selimović within the project “Civil society in action promoting and protecting Roma and Egyptian rights in Montenegro” and as a part of this project we are promoting female role models. The project is funded by the EU and is implemented by Help and the Roma youth organization Koračajte sa nama – Phiren Amenca.

Biljana Jovićević

Tablets donated by Help allowed Ms. Rosa and Ms. Zorka to see their families after six months

3. 06. 2020

Ms. Rosa Grbović is a resident of the home for the elderly in Pljevlja and she has not seen her family, her four children living in Serbia, for the last six months. Thanks to Help’s donation of tablets to homes for the elderly in several Montenegrin municipalities, she finally saw them via video call this week, as the occupational therapist of the Home for the Elderly, Dženana Muslić, told us. She says it was very touching.

“On the very same day when the director Mersida Aljićević informed us that we had received your donation, a colleague from the social services and I did our best to immediately turn on the tablets and install the cards, so that our users could see their families, some of whom had not seen their families for six months or more. Many of their children live outside, in Serbia, and see each other only occasionally. But as all of this with the coronavirus happened, the visits had to be canceled. On the same day, I immediately went to the residents on the second floor to explain to them how it all works, because many of them are not familiar with new technologies “.

Muslić says that she first went to two residents, Ms. Rosa Grbović and Ms. Zorka Topalović, whose children live in Serbia and who have not seen their loved ones for six months, maybe longer.

“Ms. Rosa’s children live in different locations, but they are all in Serbia and I asked her if we should invite them in order to see them, and at that moment the look on her face showed that she was a little skeptical because I believe they have not seen each other since November. They usually come a few times a year, they take her to the village and then return here, but everything has dragged on now because of the coronavirus and the people are even more worried about this pandemic, even though they stay in touch via the phone it is much different and more convincing when you actually see them. I was so happy that day, believe me, and I can only imagine how happy they were, as you can see I took pictures of them “.

Occupational therapist Dženana Muslić says that she had first invited Ms. Rosa’s son Milko Grbović who is a poet and who organized poetry events for them several times, where he read poetry and talked to residents in the home. So she explained the idea to him and then he invited his brothers and sisters to join the video call.

“And then we called them one by one, I was with her for an hour. She just couldn’t believe it when a picture of her children appeared live, it was very touching and it’s hard to put it into words. She started crying and I tried to calm her down, slowly… you see that everyone is fine, that they are healthy. It is very important that she could somehow see with her own eyes everything that they told her in the telephone conversations in the previous months. ”

In the past, the staff of the Home allowed their residents to talk to their families, even to those who live abroad, by using their private phones. They did everything they could for the total of 51 residents, but this is a really good thing for other reasons as well, according to Muslić.

“We’ve already made and worked out a couple of ideas – for example we talked earlier that we need a tablet for users who don’t speak. And if we had an app which I have on my private tablet – a communicator – it would be useful for us to communicate with users who can’t speak. We’ve already worked out the idea to install that app on one of the six tablets we got from you, and use it to communicate with those users. ”

That is not the only idea they’re working on.

“Because of the coronavirus, we now have limited group activities but my plan as an occupational therapist is to make workshops where we will give them basic instructions in groups by using these tablets on how to use them for reading on a daily basis, how to search sites and it will also be a form of education for them about new technologies and how they can use them for their needs. We will not overwhelm them with information of course, but we will simply do our best to guide them to the basics.”

Help donated six tablets to the Home for the Elderly in Pljevlja, and 10 to the Home for the Elderly in Bijelo Polje. Mostly elderly residents live in the Home in Pljevlja, a few younger users have their own smartphones and are well able to use them but this is a small number compared to those for whom the tablets will be more than welcome to communicate with families.

The Home has banned visits since January due to the seasonal flu and after that, due to COVID-19 and according to the recommendations of health institutions, a complete ban on entering and leaving the home was introduced and the Home staff has been isolated for 40 days, a total of about thirty people who take care of elderly residents.

Having in mind the difficult period of isolation due to the coronavirus pandemic we asked Ms. Muslić how the residents endured the past period of rigorous measures.

“Surprisingly well, believe me, surprisingly well. Of course, you could see their concern for their families, because they have not seen them for a long time, so they have been worried because a lot of them live outside of the country but they have endured everything surprisingly well. I was not in isolation with them, but there were my colleagues who talked to them every day and motivated them to endure, to be brave and to continue until the period of quarantine isolation and everything is over.

Dženana Muslić thanked Help once again on behalf of the Home for the Elderly in Pljevlja because as she says, tablets have been something they wanted and planned to provide for some time now, but they did not have the funds.

In addition to tablets for homes for the elderly in Pljevlja and Bijelo Polje, Help has provided and distributed disinfectants and hygiene products to all institutions in the second aid package, that was procured with the financial support of the German Government.

Last week, we distributed the tablets at the Children’s Home “Mladost” in Bijela, the Home for the Elderly “Grabovac” in Risan, the Public Institution for Persons with Special Needs “Komanski Most” in Podgorica and the Directorate for Execution of Criminal Sanctions (UIKS) in Spuž. A total of 75 tablets have distributed.

Help is implementing emergency aid distribution due to the coronavirus pandemic as part of the project “Support to socio-economic stability in the Western Balkans region 2019-2020” which is funded by the German government.

Ms. Rosa Grbović in the first video conversation with her family members:

32 tablets have been donated to the Directorate for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions for the communication between prisoners and their families

29. 05. 2020

On Friday, Help donated 32 tablets with monthly internet packages of 50GB for six months to the Directorate for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions (UIKS) in Spuž. This donation was funded by the German government as part of a support package to help the fight against the spread of COVID-19. In this way, we also wanted to help this public institution, which has also been in quarantine for the past three months, and still remains in quarantine – to make it easier for people serving prison sentences to communicate with their families.

Director Milan Tomić said that this is a continuation of good cooperation between Help and UIKS.

“I would say that this donation is a continuation of a very successful cooperation with Help, which was confirmed in the previous period through various projects we had. This part of the donation is very important. You know that from 13^th of March and the introduction of measures made by the National Coordination Body to prevent coronavirus we have taken restrictive measures, which have been shown as very effective”.

Tomić states that they decided to enable telephone video calls due to the measures banning visits which have been introduced three months ago, although this is not covered in their work regulations. In the past three months, the entire prison has been in contact with families via seven smartphones.

“Due to the measures banning visits, we decided to provide a certain number of phones and cards so that prisoners could make video calls with their families and relatives, and it turned out very well so we intend to continue with that. Certainly, your donation will greatly encourage it and raise it to a higher level of quality.”

The director of UIKS says that despite the imminent suspension of restrictive measures, they will continue to use the potential of video calls for prisoners in all of the prisons.

“We had a few phones, but that wasn’t nearly enough. We also plan to install booths for that purpose so that this number of tablets that you have donated to us will be put to good use. We are yet to evaluate whether it will be one monthly call for each prisoner or something different. ”

Tomić praised the behavior of the prisoners, having in mind the restrictive measures and their duration so far.

“I have to say that, having in mind everything that has happened, the speed with which it happened and the fact that some of their rights were suspended I must point out that they proved to be very responsible and I will say that we had virtually no major problems during this period of the danger of the spread of the coronavirus which still lasts. Of course, everything was done well with the engagement of all employees, but I must point out that the prisoners proved to be very responsible. ”

The prisoners themselves reacted very positively to the enabling of video calls, because a couple of months have passed and they still do not have physical contact with their loved ones which makes their stay in prison more difficult for them.

“Therefore, it is planned to enable them to make video calls in the future in a certain procedure, in accordance with the recommendations we received.”

In addition, as Tomić has told us, the tablets that come with keyboards will have other educational purposes in their process of training and certifying prisoners as well as their preparation for life after release from prison.

In addition to donating tablets, Help is also working to help UKIS provide prefabricated booths for video calls to prisoners, and a certain amount of disinfectants will be delivered to them next week. According to director Tomić, that is also necessary and very important for them. They went through this crisis period successfully he says, strictly applying all hygienic and disinfection regulations with the help of the Montenegrin army, which was the first to help them in the process of disinfection of the entire area of the Spuž prison. They have provided the necessary funds for disinfection on regular basis thanks to the various donations they received.

He says that the cooperation with Help is as valuable to them as it was before.

A total of 75 tablets with the Internet packages for 6 months is being distributed as part of the second package of support in several Montenegrin institutions and public institutions for vulnerable categories of the population. On Wednesday, we already took 22 tablets to the Home for the Elderly „Grabovac“ in Risan and the Children’s Home „Mladost“ in Bijela. On Thursday, we delivered five tablets to the PI Institution for Children with Special Needs „Komanski Most“. The rest of the tablets will be distributed in homes for the elderly in Bijelo Polje and Pljevlja.

Additionally, hygiene products and disinfectants will be distributed to everyone as part of the aid package with a total value of 46,645 Euros.

HELP is carrying out an emergency aid distribution because of the coronavirus pandemic, as part of a project: “Support to socio-economic stability of the Western Balkans region 2019-2020” which is funded by the German government.

5 tablets have been donated to the Institute “Komanski Most”

28. 05. 2020

On Thursday, Help has donated five tablets for residents of the Institute “Komanski Most”, an institute in which people with special needs are cared for. As Vaselj Dušaj, the director of this public institution that takes care of the most vulnerable category of citizens and his associates have told us, the donation is more than welcome, although many others help them.

This donation is funded by the German Government as part of the second support package provided by Help to the vulnerable categories during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the help of the staff who takes care of them, the users of the Institute’s services will be able to establish contact with their families who have not seen them for three months. According to Dušaj, ten days before the decision of the National Coordination Body to prevent the spread of coronavirus, this institution has banned visits to the Institute as well as canceled the possibility of users from leaving the Institute, and these are the measures that are still in effect.

The Institute “Komanski Most” currently has a total of 116 users with special needs aged from 18 up to 73. Although the visits have been banned, the staff of the Institute, who were also in quarantine tried to enable contact of users with the families via their personal phones.

As Dušaj and his associates told us, there is no doubt that the tablets we provided for them along with keyboards for easier use and internet cards for six months with 50 GB internet package will greatly facilitate communication with the outside world, but they plan to use it also for other purposes, primarily educational purposes.

At the Institute “Komanski Most” they told us that they have done and that they continue to do everything necessary to make the quarantine period easier for their users who found this period especially difficult.

“They keep asking me ‘when will see our family, when will we go out’, and sometimes it is not easy to explain to them and calm them down but we do our best”, says Vaselj Dušaj and they hope that using these tablets will help them relax their users’ desire to see their families.

A total of 75 tablets with the Internet packages for 6 months will be distributed in several Montenegrin institutions and public institutions for vulnerable categories of the population. On Wednesday, we already took 22 tablets to the Home for the Elderly „Grabovac“ in Risan and the Children’s Home „Mladost“ in Bijela. The rest of the tablets will be distributed in homes for the elderly in Bijelo Polje and Pljevlja, and the Directorate for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions in Spuž.

Additionally, hygiene products and disinfectants will be distributed to everyone as part of the aid package with a total value of 46,645 Euros.

Help is carrying out the emergency aid distribution because of the coronavirus pandemic, as part of the project: “Support to socio-economic stability of the Western Balkans region 2019-2020” which is funded by the German government.

Tablets have been distributed in Home for the Elderly „Grabovac“ and the Children’s Home in Bijela. 27. 05. 2020

27. 05. 2020

In the Home for the Elderly „Grabovac “in Risan which was reconstrcted in 2008 by Help, 12 tablets have been distributed on Wednesday, while 10 tablets have been distributed in the Home for Children without Parental Care in Bijela.

Thanks to these tablets, users in these institutions will be able to have easier contact with their families and relatives, which was made difficult or impossible due to measures made against the spread of coronavirus.

Help’s donation which was funded by the German Government was welcomed with joy in both of these institutions.

The director of the Home for the Elderly “Grabovac” Srđan Dragomanović, told us that they had already planned to provide a certain number of tablets for their users earlier – but failed to do so until now due to lack of funds. A large number of about 300 elderly people who have been in quarantine since February 2 have found it difficult to communicate with their families in the past period, due to the measures made by the National Coordination Body (NCB) to combat the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Some of them even have their closest relatives abroad.

The head of the social service said that tablets will be distributed in all departments tomorrow (along with tablets we also provided a keyboard), one tablet for each department, with which comes an internet card for six months with a package of 50 GB each. As they have told us, even though they have internet in the Home, the internet signal is not adequate everywhere so this will enable the users to have easier and faster communication with their loved ones.

As we were told, some users have smartphones of their own, but not most of them, and there is one computer in each department but these tablets will allow each of the users to have the privacy of their room while talking to family and friends.

In the Home for the Elderly „Grabovac” they have told us that the tablets will also serve other purposes, such as organizing quizzes and other similar activities. The quarantine measures are still in effect in this facility and it is assumed that the retirement home will be one of the last institutions to lift the corresponding measures.

The director of Children’s Home “Mladost” in Bijela, Vesna Zlatković, told us that the tablets will be used for several purposes in this institution also: for communication between children and the outside world, and for studying. The quarantine measures are still in effect in this institution, and there are currently 80 children in the Home.

The rest of the tablets will be distributed in homes for the elderly in Bijelo Polje and Pljevlja, the Institution for Children with Special Needs „Komanski Most“ in Podgorica and the Directorate for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions in Spuž. In addition to tablets, all users will also receive monthly internet packages of 50 GB for six months.

This donation of tablets is a continuation of Help’s support to Montenegro in mitigating the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.

The distribution of 75 tablets for vulnerable populations is part of Help’s regional project “Supporting socio-economic stability in the western Balkans region 2019-2020” and is part of the second government support package worth EUR 46,645.

The following are photos from the tablet delivery. First from Children’s Home “Mladost” in Bijela:

After that, we visited the Home for the Elderly „Grabovac“ in Risan:

Help and the German Government are donating 75 tablets to several institutions in Montenegro

26. 05. 2020

In the Home for the Elderly „Grabovac“ in Risan which was renovated in 2008 by Help, 12 tablets will be distributed on Wednesday, May 27, while 10 tablets will be distributed in the Home for Children without Parental Care in Bijela on the same day.

Thanks to these tablets, users in these institutions will be able to have easier contact with their families and relatives, which was made impossible due to measures made against the spread of coronavirus.

This donation of tablets is a continuation of Help’s support to Montenegro in mitigating the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.

The distribution of 75 tablets for vulnerable categories of the population is part of the second support package of the German Government worth 46,645 EUR.

RE mediator for inclusion has even sewed masks for her people in the past three months

25. 05. 2020

Mirsada Advijaj, a Roma activist who has been engaged for years in various projects to improve the position of the Roma-Egyptian population (RE) and their more efficient inclusion in Montenegrin society, even used her hobby – sewing, to help the RE community during the coronavirus pandemic in Montenegro.

For the past two months, Advijaj has been sewing reusable masks in one corner of her bedroom, first for the RE population in Nikšić in coordination with the young activist Nardy Ahmetović from the Center for Affirmation of the Roma-Egyptian Population (CAREP), who is also a Red Cross volunteer.

After she finished sewing for them and distributed the masks in Nikišić, it was Podgorica’s turn, where Help has provided her with materials for sewing of masks, as part of our campaign to provide emergency assistance to the RE population, that is funded by the German government.

As she told us during the conversation, she used her old Bagat machine, that she got from her sister and that she used to sometimes fix, remake, undercut or shorten something for herself, her relatives, friends and neighbors. She used it to sew masks which have suddenly become one of the most sought after products in the world during the coronavirus pandemic. It was almost impossible to find the masks at first, and then their price started to rise – which made them practically inaccessible for the RE population, which is a vulnerable category and in a difficult socio-economic situation in Montenegro as well as everywhere else in the world.

“When there was a shortage of masks at the beginning, I have respected the measures prescribed by the National Coordination Body (NCB) to the maximum. On very rare occasions when I needed to leave the house during that period, I sewed a mask for myself so I could go to the store to shop from time to time. I talked to Nardy Ahmetović during those days and we talked about how people are struggling and I told him that I often sew for himself, so he asked me if I could sew about 50 masks for them in Nikšić, which would be very important since they had no masks there at the time. I had some of my own materials and that’s how I started. ”

As everyone heard that Mirsada Avdijaj sews and donates masks, there were more and more requests addressed to her, from her surroundings.

“After that, people from here in my neighborhood as well as from the wider area of Zabjelo started asking if I could sew masks for them as well. I used up all the material I had at home, and then I decided that I had to help the RE population here in Podgorica, since I am a local mediator of the Center for Civil Initiatives from Niksic. It was not logical for me not to help the community here in Podgorica, and so I turned to your mediator Ibrahim Tatari, asking if he could help me with the procurement of materials because I had already used everything I had of my own materials. Then you from Help jumped in and helped me with the purchase of sewing materials. ”

Just when we visited her, Ms. Avdijaj had more than 150 reusable masks (which can be washed and ironed) ready to distribute, packed in threes in bags for distribution in Konik where the RE population in Podgorica predominantly lives.

“I have to tell you that since the NCB measures have eased, I have already gone to Konik where people needed help a couple of times, and on that occasion I distributed a couple of masks on my own initiative. People asked me many questions like ‘are there more masks and when will we get them’. Therefore, we decided that it would be better to make a larger number and to distribute them all at once, so that people would not get angry that someone received one and someone did not. ”

In the past three months she has been sewing the masks herself, because as she says, that way she is most sure that everything will turn out as it should, but that has slowed down somewhat because of her other obligations. Although she learned sewing as a child from her mother and later took a sewing course, she never thought about taking that job seriously. And now it is just a hobby, that has proven to be very useful in these unexpected circumstances.

“I’m not a brilliant tailor, but there are a lot of things that I can do, and this was quite simple and proved to be very useful at the moment. In addition to that, sewing of these masks stopped me from continuously sitting in the house during the strict COVID-19 measures, because I didn’t know what else I could do during that period. This was a useful leisure activity that Nardy inspired me to do “, says Mirsada Avdijaj.

Her primary job is working as a mediator and trustee person for the rights and inclusion of Roma and Egyptians at the Center for Roma Initiatives in Niksic; she has previously worked in a kindergarten as an assistant to help them overcome the language barrier of preschool children. She is helping her community solve problems in health, education, and prevent early marriages and domestic violence.

“But I can say that everything fits in my job description of a RE mediator and an trustee person, because you have a lot of people who need different kinds of help: there are people who need help filling out a one-time financial aid application, collecting documents and getting a workbook, help with a translator due to the language barrier, so my scope of work is quite broad. Or rather – I am here to help all of them, as much as I can. ”

She began her volunteer engagement a long time ago, together with her friend Behija Ramovic, who now works in the government’s anti-trafficking body. Attending numerous seminars, workshops and training with her, she realized that she could be of benefit to her community. Based on her own experience she says that, although much remains to be done, progress in the inclusion of the RE population is noticeable.

“The first and most important thing that has improved is the education. For example, in 2012 during my work on one project, I had a huge number of children who could not pass the preparation for enrollment in school, but I had a large number of them for enrollment then. There is no need for such projects today because practically every child is enrolled in kindergarten andschool. Since I am also a language assistant, I know that there was a huge number of children who did not speak Montenegrin, but I assisted them in kindergarten as a translator from Albanian to Montenegrin and vice versa, so today practically all children speak Montenegrin thanks to inclusion. In addition, the institutions are now significantly more open to providing assistance than they used to be. ”

According to Avdijaj, a key for the future is to insist and work so that Roma-Egyptian children not only stay in primary education, but also continue their education, which is a slightly bigger challenge.

“It is very important that children not only stay in primary education, but also continue their education in high school, because this will open other doors and opportunities for their employment outside the existing molds. In addition, I think it is very important that RE population understands that they have rights like everyone else and that they should demand them, they should not think that someone is giving them something but that they are exercising their basic rights just like everyone else. People from the RE population are often unaware of all the rights guaranteed by the constitution and laws, so they often do not fight for them. ”

Eventually we went back talking about sewing masks.

Ms. Avdijaj says that she is ready to continue sewing, but we have all expressed hope that it wont be necessary anymore. For now, they are still sewing in the color in which the masks are most sought after, the neutral color of ice, but she hopes that it will end there and that there will be no second wave of the pandemic.

However, masks are still in high demand because although NCB measures against the spread of the coronavirus pandemic have eased, citizens are still required to wear masks in all enclosed spaces.

A day later, Ms. Avdijaj distributed the masks to the citizens of Konik with our mediators Ibrahim Tatari and Dijamant Pajazitaj.

Mirsada Avdijaj made reusable masks within Help’s regional project “Support to socio-economic stability in the Western Balkans region 2019-2020” that is funded by the German Foreign Ministry.

Biljana Jovićević