Application Form. Civil Society Fund FY10 Tirana Country Office, WORLD BANK

Transcription

1 Civil Society Fund FY10 Tirana Country Office, WORLD BANK Executive Summary (Please type using no more than one page) 1. Date: 2. Name of organization: Romet e Veriut 3. Contact person and title: Bujar Berisha(Head of the association) 4. Address: Lagjja Skenderbeg City, Country, Postal Code: Lezhe, Albania 5. Telephone: Fax: nikoliden@yahoo.com Website (if available): 6. Mission statement of the applicant organization: For Office Use Application Number: Date Received: We are working towards a democratic society that acknowledges and respects the rights, the cultures and the traditions of the Roma. 7. Title of the project: Getting to know better the Roma 8. Purpose of funding request and how this activity relates to civic engagement of the marginalized and vulnerable groups to be represented in the development processes. The aim of the application for funding for this project is to sensitize all levels of government towards better development policies through the involvement of the Rome community in their integration. We think that the awareness of the reality of this community will facilitate their efforts for integration with equal rights with other communities. Also, this project will help in the implementation of the Rome strategy in the framework of the Rome Decade. We are conscious that the successful integration of the Rome is a long road with two directions, the ability of the Roma to adopt with a life with changes and ability of the other communities to accept the Roma with their cultures and traditions. 9. Target population and number benefiting from the proposed activities Civil Society Fund FY10 1 World Bank Albania Country Office

2 The Rome minority in the District of Lezha 10. Expected outcomes of the activity Getting to better know the real situation of Roma minority, will lead to conclusions helping the orientation of governance to undertake necessary measures for improvement. Identification of children issues, especially of drop out Roma kids resulting from their very low family incomes,through working with their parents on the need of education among them Statistics with figures and data on the Roma minority living in Lezha prefecture including gender elements at the same time Better policies for their development Better collaboration with local governance and civic society Collaboration with media to deliver the message to a wider audience in a short time Public Information on Roma Minority 11. Plans for learning and knowledge sharing This project will directly lead to an increase of the management capacity of the association Romet e Veriut (Roma of the North) and will identify the problems of the Roma community in the district of Lezha and the activity will increase to integrate the Roma communities from other regions of the north, we will also lobby for the implementation and the enforcement of the Roma strategy. The knowledge of the problems will increase the awareness and lead to attempts at improving the situation and we will lobby for the opening of a community centre for the development of this community by offering different services. 12. Period this funding request will cover: 6 Months June-November, Amount of request (Details under Activity Income) : 3505$ 14. If your organization has received previous support from the World Bank, please list the year, amount, and describe for what purpose: NO 15. Authorizing signature of the applicant organization s executive director or board chair: Signature: Name (print):bujar Berisha Title: Project Coordinator Civil Society Fund FY10 2 World Bank Albania Country Office

3 Purpose of the Grant 16. Describe briefly the need or issue you will address. Include a description of the constituency served (including number participating) and how they will participate/benefit? The Roma Minority lives together with the Gypsy community at the Skenderberg neighbourhood (or Ilyria neighbourhood as was known during the communist regime). This community according to unofficial figures is made of about 200 families in the Lezha district. The Roma families live in rented accommodation or in buildings with terrible living conditions. The main problems for this community that prevent their integration in society and the lack of equal rights with other communities are: Street Children Due to education not being part of the Roma culture, there are no traditions of and for 100 years the Rome children have not received proper education and as a result illiteracy is very high. The fact that we can see problems with education is not surprising; the parents themselves did not go to school and are unable to support their children through school. There are no real statistics about the Roma children on the Streets. High unemployment Closely linked to the problem of education is that of high unemployment. As the number of street children is high, it is difficult to find employments that require qualifications. The Roma people traditionally have been traders and have lived by buying and selling, as a result they are not used to working for someone else, something that causes problems in finding employment. Lack of accommodation The Roma people traditionally have lived in tents and in absolute freedom. They took all their belongings with them and didn t depend on anyone. This situation changed drastically when they decided to live in houses, where they had to pay rent and bills. After many years of independence this new way of life has led to many getting into debt, getting health problems (psychological and physical). All these have lead to excessive drinking and smoking which means the intervention of psychiatrists is a must for this target Group. Health Problems The lack of information and the inadequate level of coverage by the local media have led to this community being affected a lot by sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS-HIV and Hepatitis. Civil Society Fund FY10 3 World Bank Albania Country Office

4 The aim of this Project: To address the problems linked with the Roma community and lobby for knowledge of the Roma identity and encourage the improvement of their extremely poor living conditions 17. How will the proposed activity promote civic engagement of the marginalized and vulnerable groups to be represented in the development processes? This community will be informed about their Human Rights and will fight to prevent the discrimination and abuse that it s caused to this community. The awareness of the Roma will increase so that they can lobby for their rights and the street children will be motivated to attend schools too. It will contribute in the increase of the capacity our organisation that is one of the few Roma organisations that works voluntarily in the North. 18. List the activity goal(s) and measurable objective(s). o 300 informative leaflets on Roma minority o Conference-Getting to better know Roma Minority o 4 seminars with around participants-identification of their reality of leaving and engagement for better future local policies o Presentation of informative materials among Roma community and at the same time to local and central governance. o Presentation of materials to decision-makers to make better policies encouraging development among Roma communities. 19. Is the activity new or ongoing on the part of the applicant organization? If the activity is ongoing, how will your organization support this activity in the future? New activity 20. Provide a brief timetable for implementation of activity. The Project will start with a awareness campaign and will also use the local media (mainly TV) and will finish with the publication of informative leaflets I. Conference-Getting to know better the Roma! The implementation will begin with a conference where there will be representatives from the Roma community and other communities in Lezha, members of the local government, members of parliament and the media.it will be organised in collaboration with the Directory of Minorities in the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. The aim of this conference will be to inform the public about the history, Civil Society Fund FY10 4 World Bank Albania Country Office

5 culture, tradition, costumes and the language of the Roma Minority. The conference will contain Roma songs and dances Content: Presentation on the history, culture, tradition, costumes and the Roma language Messages & Greetings for the Roma Minority Conference will be greeted by activities illustrating Roma identity (songs, dance, etc. III. Seminars 4 seminars will be set up in, Laç, Mamurras, Rrile, Fushekuqe to give presentations of the findings from the direct observations and the results taken from the completion of the questionnaire, discussions to find possible solutions (members from the Rome community, local government, members of parliament and head teachers) Content The presentation of the figures and facts for the Rome community and their reality Collection of thoughts and general conclusions for better policies for development for the Rome community at local level IV: The final evaluation of the material with the findings and the conclusions from the seminars and the sending of the findings to all levels of the institutions A leaflet will be published with figures and facts about the Roma community in Lezha. Activity June July August September October November Meeting with the key project staff on the project implementation. Prep.& consultants for the conference (key staff) Conference in Lezha: Getting to know better the Rome community Prep. Of the seminars(project specialist & the trainers) Seminar in Mamurras Seminar in Lac Seminar in Fushekuqe Civil Society Fund FY10 5 World Bank Albania Country Office

6 Seminar in Rrile Designing of the leaflet (project specialist) Printing of the leaflet(coord,) Delivering of leaflets Interviews focused at the groups directly affected by this project to evaluate the project (project volunteers) TV Special on the citizens reaction on the project (Local Media) 21. What other organizations, if any, will be participating in the activity? Describe their roles. The project will be assisted by the Project of the Youth Parliament Lezhe and the program for the integration of Roma in the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. 22. List the names and qualifications of key staff/volunteers responsible for activity implementation. 1. Bujar Berisha- Head of the Association/Project Director (Rom) 2. Mimoza Medja- Member of the council/accountant (Rom) 3. Blerina Tepelelna/ Kastriot Kodheli- Trainer (specialists on Human rights) 5. Dile Nikolla- Project Specialist (Coordinator of the youth parliament) Evaluation 23. Please list the specific outcomes of your activity. What assessment methods/strategies will you use to track and measure outcomes? (e.g. interviews, surveys, focus groups, community feedback, etc.) a. Interviews with the direct project beneficiaries b. Reaction of beneficiaries through TV interviews 24. Describe briefly what will be different at the end of the grant period. Local government will be more aware of the problems so it can implement better policies for the development of this community. Civil Society Fund FY10 6 World Bank Albania Country Office

7 A sensitized media to show/reflect this community not only as black and white but also with the colours of life The organisation Roma of the North will gain experience and its capacity to absorb more funding for the Rome community will increase. Bridges need to be built with other NGO s/district/prefecture and the Council. Beneficial relations need to be built with the local Media that will continue to send the messages of this community even after the end of this project financed by the World Bank. 25. How will the activity s results be used and/or disseminated? Informative leaflets shall be disseminated at all levels of decision-makers. The association Roma of the North with some raised capacity shall be able to extend the work with other Roma communities in the North of Albania Activity Income 26. Total applicant contribution. a. In kind (describe): US$ b. Cash: US$ 700 Total: US$ Funding leveraged by applicant from other donors: (List all sources and give estimated amounts) Source Amount a. US$ b. US$ Total: US$ 28. Total requested from the World Bank: US$ Total activity income from all sources: US$4205 Civil Society Fund FY10 7 World Bank Albania Country Office