Project on the field Kosovo

In Kosovo, Terre des hommes is committed to the building of an efficient Child Protection Safety Net (CPSN) in order to protect children against neglect, abuse, delinquency, trafficking and exploitation. Public institutions are supported in order to reinforce their professional competences and learn to work together in a coordinated way, so that vulnerable children can be more effectively protected.

Building a Child Protection Safety Net in Kosovo

In Kosovo, 60 % of the national population is between 0 and 18 years old, 45% of the population is unemployed and 17% lives in extreme poverty. Many families are dysfunctional and are not able to protect their children. Besides these economic difficulties, the relationship between the various ethnic groups living in Kosovo is still very tense. The role of social services and educational institutions is therefore all the more essential for the vulnerable youths, as well as an efficient coordination between these institutions. If children represent an asset for the future of a country, they first need to fulfil their rights to equal access to education and protection to be respected.

Terre des hommes addresses these issues by building a Child Protection Safety Net (CPSN) since January 2010 in 6 cities in Kosovo: Prishtina, Mitrovica, Ferizaj, Fushe Kosovo, Gjakova and Peja.

The aim of the CPSN Project is to provide the necessary means for operational prevention and protection of vulnerable children by national caregivers. It addresses the lack of child protection mechanisms and of cooperation between the different institutions by strengthening and empowering all the relevant actors involved in the child protection field in Kosovo. The project is increasing their specific professional capacities as well as their ability of working together, notably through the establishment of Task Forces (local roundtables as a coordination tool for child protection) in 6 cities.

If professionalized, coordinated and respective of Child protection policies, these structures will be able to efficiently undertake prevention and protection measures.

Our partners

In order to build effectively the capacity of state institutions, the CPSN Project has to be implemented in coordination with all relevant State and Non-Governmental actors involved in child protection in Kosovo. Our partners to build the Child Protection Safety Net are:

- Municipalities
- Social services in Kosovo (Centers for Social Work) )
- Educational institutions (public schools, residential institutions, Regional Directorates of Education, Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology in Prishtina);
- Kosovo Police (The Community, the Anti-trafficking and the Domestic violence Police Units), Probation Services and Victim Protection Office;
- RAE (Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian) NGOs and local leaders (constitution of Community Counselling Groups with community-based-organizations and RAE NGOs);
- Ministries of Education, of Social Welfare, of Justice and of Internal Affairs ;
- International Organizations, as well as local and international NGOs (such as OSCE, UNICEF, Save the Children, ILO, and local NGOs, etc.).

Tdh yesterday…

Present in Kosovo since 2000, Terre des hommes has always been working in close collaboration with local and national authorities and partners.
Implemented since January 2010, the CPSN Project builds on Tdh’s field experience, trustful contacts and strong level of credibility established with relevant stakeholders at both local and national levels, especially thanks to the last two past projects: the Transnational Action against Child Trafficking and the Prevention of the Juvenile Delinquency in Kosovo (PJDK).
Both projects can be considered as the roots of the current CPSN Project, which is benefiting from the dynamics created and the tools developed by TACT and PJDK projects.

…and tomorrow
The first aim of Tdh is to institutionalize this Safety Net at municipal level in the six cities of current intervention of the CPSN Project in Kosovo by the end of 2012.
After 2012, Tdh will most probably continue monitoring the implementation of the safety net and advising all stakeholders working in child protection whenever required. Tdh will advocate at ministry level on the one hand to increase the financial means of Centres for Social Work and the number of appointed school psychologists, and on the other hand to institutionalize this model of intervention in all cities of Kosovo.

Link with the Project Mario
The CPSN project is articulated in combination with the regional “MARIO project”, a joint initiative between Terre des hommes, Save the Children, ECPAT and Nobody’s Children Foundation, which has built a coalition of 15 national NGOs in Kosovo. Part of the training activities needed by CPSN is organized under the “MARIO project”, allowing systematic training for CPSN project partners.

Our donors

The implementation of the CPSN project in Kosovo is possible thanks to the generous contribution of our donors: the Dutch Embassy in Kosovo, the French Embassy in Kosovo, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), OSCE, Oak Foundation and UNICEF. We are still looking for additional partnerships for 2011 and 2012.

Real life

N. is 13 years old and lives with her family of 6. Two years ago, the difficult economic conditions in the family have compelled N. to start begging and collecting garbage on the streets of the city. N. confesses that she used to “work” every day. At the end of each day, she brought the money home, in order to help her parents. She felt very bad because she couldn’t go to school, she couldn’t read nor write and this made her feel different from all other children.
In 2008, Tdh identified her on the streets and immediately involved her in the activities developed in close collaboration with local authorities. Her case was referred to the local Task Force and over 30 family visits were done by Task Force members. They also offered psychosocial support to her family. They regularly talked to and finally convinced N.’s parents of the importance of school integration and its impact on their daughter’s self-esteem in the future. N.’s teacher also gave a big help in this regard, as he identified her intelligence and helped her to catch up with her classmates in the academic program.
“When I first entered in my class, I immediately felt better” – N. explains.
Now, she is totally integrated in school, even though she started a year later. Her teachers say that she is one of the best student and an excellent pupil in their school. The aspiration of N. is to become a doctor in order to help others in the future.

Contact:

Mr. Artur Marku – Delegate
Terre des hommes Delegation in Kosovo
Address: Rustem Statovci 11/2, 10000 Pristine, Kosovo
Phone/Fax No: +381 (0)38 244 574