Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian community members in Mitrovicë/a South are supported in the framework of the Supporting “Social Entrepreneurship and Promoting Socio-economic Empowerment in Minority Communities in Kosovo” project implemented by the Danish Refugee Council and is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) represented by the Swedish Embassy in Pristina
In response to the impact of CoVID-19, the Danish Refugee Council delivered personal/household hygiene items to 375 vulnerable families in South Mitrovicë/a. The families, who belong to Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities, have been particularly affected in their ability to generate income.
Contextually, in cooperation with the Main Family Medicine Centre of South Mitrovicë/a, a nurse was present during the distribution of packages to measure the temperature of the recipients, thus improving access to health services for DRC’s persons of concern.
Fekrije is a single mother of three children from Roma Mahalla/Mahala. She collects waste plastic for a living and struggles to make ends meet especially with the ongoing restrictions on movement
Sofje and her disabled husband live in Dy Korriku / Sitničko Naselje with their child. They rely exclusively on social benefits to cover costs such as that of the rent for the house were they live.
Turkijan lives in Roma Mahalla/Mahala and is the father of five children. He relies on collecting plastic for the subsistence of his family. Given the ongoing restrictions on movement, he can no longer access sufficient income to meet their basic needs.
Bekim and his wife live in Ura e Gjakut / Krvavi Most. Due to health issues, they are unemployed and rely on social benefits to support themselves and their five daughters
In order to continue to promote ownership and sustainability, community members were fully engaged in the process. Besides voicing their own concerns through participating in the needs assessment, a number of them have been engaged as community advocates to support awareness raising on CoVID-19. This will build stronger capacities within the communities and promote long-term empowerment.
