Grantees

Volunteering grants are intended to achieve concrete results within a specific timeframe. Beneficiaries of these grants may be individuals, unregistered initiatives and non-governmental organizations that present the most compelling and creative proposals, which have a high potential to engage the citizens of Kosovo in addressing the issues of the community where they live.

The following are summaries of project presentations of the seven organizations/initiatives that have benefited under this grant scheme during 2021.

 

Organization: Kosovo's Organization of Medical Students

Project: "Healthcare is a Human Right"

The project “Healthcare is a Human Right” essentially involves the promotion of public health among marginalized groups of society.
Through this project, it is aimed to increase the level of medical education of this community for fatal diseases such as breast cancer, and chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes by ensuring ‘screening’ of the target community for these diseases and by providing health education through information, access to which may be limited for this marginalized group of society.
The expected results are an increase in the annual number of women from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian community who undergo mammography as well as informing women of this community on the importance of systematic checks; an increase in the number of health checks and care for diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. These services will be provided to members of the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian community of the municipality of Ferizaj and Fushë Kosovë. Mammograms will be made logistically possible through the voluntary engagement of KOMS members (Medical Faculty students and young doctors) in private clinics that offer this service, and health checks will be carried out by these same volunteers. The budget for this project is 5000 euros.

 

Organization: Business Advisory Center in North Mitrovica (PSCMS)

Project: “Promoting volunteerism and helping vulnerable citizens in North Mitrovica with the help of the first virtual assistant in Kosovo”

The project "Promoting volunteerism and helping vulnerable citizens in North Mitrovica with the help of the first virtual assistant in Kosovo" is the result of the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on all citizens of Kosovo, especially in North Mitrovica. During 2020 and 2021, everyday life in many areas of life has changed significantly, as the PSCMS organization, through its work and activities during the most critical period of 2020 and 2021, has identified the most vulnerable citizens. This group includes the elderly and sick, minorities and people with special needs. The Business Advisory Center in North Mitrovica feels civic responsibility and the need to intervene and continuously reduce the possibility of illness and the spread of the virus among the most vulnerable citizens. Specifically, during the four-month period, the PSCMS team, through the first virtual assistant in Kosovo, will enable the provision of personal documents without the mandatory presence in the building of the North Mitrovica municipality. In addition, volunteers will enable citizens to distribute medicines and basic food during the most critical period of the year. At least 200 citizens will be users of the services of this organization during the duration of the project.

To achieve the above results, in addition to the organization's staff, ten new volunteers will be engaged to promote volunteerism and provide opportunities for young people to help their fellow citizens. Also, considering that volunteer work is not sufficiently represented in the respective municipality, work will be done to expand the capacities of young people through study visits and exchange of experiences. The PSCMS organization has received the support of the North Mitrovica Municipality for this initiative. The budget of this initiative is 4,030 euros.

Initiative: Ethics Club

Project: “Mental Health of Students During Exam Period”

Based on the logical framework of the problems realized by the Ethics Club through the club members, we have decided to address the topic of mental health of students during their studies and the overall goal of the project is to promote better mental health among students during the exam period in their studies. The expected results of the project are that students involved in the activities will gain knowledge and practice forms that help in having better mental health during exams, as well as to reduce forms of health deterioration such as: anxiety and stress among students through activities such as one-day camps, football competitions, volleyball, etc. Students from all years of the Faculty of Law and other faculties of UP, as well as academic staff, will be engaged in the project. The project budget is 4755 euros, while the duration is 5 months. The location of the activities is the Faculty of Law - UP.

 

Initiative: Gentione Gigollaj Shalaj

Project “Supportive teaching through volunteer work for children with disabilities”

The project “Supportive teaching through voluntary work for children with disabilities” has the general aim of supporting children with special educational needs, who are starting primary education for the first time, in their learning. This is intended to be achieved through the cooperation of the HandiKos Prizren Organization, the respective schools where the student attends and the graduate students of the Faculty of Education, Primary Program of the University of Prizren “Ukshin Hoti” based on the Individual Education Plan of the respective student. This project will be implemented in the Municipality of Prizren, where the supportive teaching will be provided by the graduate students in cooperation with the child’s respective teachers, in the premises of the Handikos NGO, where the main beneficiaries will be children with disabilities, who are members of this organization and who have special educational needs, and which project will last six months, at a cost of 4,950.00 Euros.

 

Organization: NGO “Agromedicine”

Project: “Educational gardens in schools with aromatic plants for air purification and promotion of civic engagement for environmental protection in public spaces”

The idea of the project “Educational gardens in schools with aromatic plants for air purification and promotion of civic engagement for environmental protection in public spaces”, is the voluntary engagement of students, the school’s governing council and members of the Agromedicine association to create educational gardens. The gardens will be created in 5 schools with 10 types of perennial aromatic plants belonging to the deciduous type, in order to create an ecological, healthy, relaxing and chlorophyll-rich environment even during the autumn and winter seasons.

Educational gardens or parks in Pristina schools will be created with the aim of educating the younger generation about the ecological environment and healthy living and to promote the voluntary engagement of various stakeholders: students, teachers, parents and civil society.

From volunteering, the main result comes natural air freshness, greening of the environment and environmental protection by raising environmental education and culture. The project will last 6 months and will be implemented in Pristina with a total budget of 4850 euros.

Organization: Association of Private Forest Owners “Pashtriku” Gjakova

Project: “Hand in Hand with Nature”

The project "Hand in Hand with Nature" aims to develop a comprehensive understanding and implementation of effective measures to prevent pollution and clean up waste from visitors to the tourist areas of the villages of Has in Gjakova through the development of community capacities, primarily of the youth community of these villages. The aim of the action is to develop a comprehensive understanding and implementation of effective measures to prevent pollution and clean up waste from visitors to the tourist areas of the villages of Has in Gjakova through the development of community capacities, primarily of the youth community of these villages. The project aims to raise awareness and engage the community in keeping the environment clean and preserving the environment from the impacts of waste: organic and inorganic as a result of frequenting tourist spots, landscapes and natural environments, assisting in placing waste sorting baskets along the paths frequented by visitors and with voluntary work of the community, organizing the collection of this waste from the premises of the Kusari Caves and the paths to get to these tourist spots. The project will also enable the collected and selected waste to be collected by licensed recyclers, while for organic waste, their composting will be demonstrated on a small scale - with a focus on families.

From the educational courses with students, it is expected that 25 students will be educated who in the future will have the predisposition to be volunteer environmentalists and who will take care of the connection "Hand in hand with nature" for their future and that of subsequent generations

Organization: RENESANSA – Association of Women in the Fight Against Breast Cancer

Project: “Volunteering at Race for the Cure 2022″

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women – the fifth leading cause of death worldwide and the leading cause in Europe.

The possibility of developing breast cancer is a source of anxiety for many women. In this context, awareness of the early detection of breast cancer in women and girls is very important, considering that Kosovo has a population dominated by young age.

Awareness campaigns are constantly organized in Kosovo for women to undergo frequent check-ups, so that the disease can be detected in time, because breast cancer, diagnosed at a later stage, can be more difficult to treat.

These awareness campaigns, in addition to aiming to raise the awareness of the population about the risk of breast cancer, also make efforts to encourage responsible institutions to create conditions for the early detection of the disease and its treatment.

With the support of the umbrella organization Think Pink Europe, which includes about 30 European organizations, the ‘Renesansa’ Association, which is a member of this network, has joined the initiative to contribute to improving and accelerating the exchange of information and best practices for breast cancer healthcare.

Within the framework of Think Pink Europe activities, as in other European countries, the Race For the Cure marathon is organized in Kosovo every year, an activity that serves to raise awareness of the population about breast cancer and focuses on reducing inequalities in access to healthcare and closing the healthcare gap between European countries.

The “Renesansa” Association continues to help women affected by breast cancer on a voluntary basis by offering them support to cope with treatments as easily as possible, psychosocial rehabilitation after medical treatments, support for families of people affected by the disease, as well as necessary material assistance after treatments such as wigs, prostheses, etc.

Race for the Cure Kosova 2022- The 4th edition is usually held on the last Sunday of September, celebrating the survival of people with breast cancer, encouraging patients in treatment, and commemorating those who have lost their battle with this disease. The value of this project is 4,930 euros.