“CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT III”

supported by OAK Foundation

Three-year general support that the OAK Foundation provided to our organization is of key importance for the work and development of our organization and for the general benefit of the society (regarding women, particularly from vulnerable categories) within the local community and on the entity, state and regional level. Our organization has a three-year plan and program. During the first year and owing the support of the OAK Foundation, we were able to accomplish numerous results and participate on a number of seminars, meetings and educations, which contributes to the development of our capacities.

Objective 1.Support to victims of domestic violence through a number of direct services.

Objective 2. Promotion of economic empowerment of socially vulnerable women.

Objective 3. Conduction of research, monitoring and lobbying for improvement of women’s position in the society and adoption and implementation of laws that protect women’s rights, particularly women victims of domestic violence.

Objective 4. Strengthening the sustainability of Zenski centar Trebinje through external fund raising, creation of local sources of income and support to the wellbeing of employees and other relevant stakeholders.

FEMALE’S ACTVISM- YESTERDAY, TODAY, TOMMOROW…

support by Filia

During January 2014th, members of NGO „Women’s center” have visited all municipalities of East Herzegovina (Berkovici, Gacko, Ljubinje, Nevesinje, Ljubinje, Bileca and Trebinje) in order to perform an interview with our members and to make an agreement with a female activists in those municipalities. We have visited each municipality twice in order to hold a meetings with groups of activists. In this period, each group has been assigned with a task to prepare all necessary data about situation on the ground, all problems and needs of young girls and women who have been discriminated on multiple levels, as well as activists themselves, who are devoted to the fight against violence and discrimination against women and girls in East Herzegovina. Based on their reports, we managed to create document named „Strategy of action on a matter of eradication of violence and all other forms of discrimination against girls and women in East Herzegovina in a period of 2013th to 2016th”, during our two-day conference. The conference was 27./28. February 2014 and attended by a total of 102 women and girls, 60 of them are activists, 38 of them are victims of domestic violence and four members of NGO „Women’s center”.

Javorka 42. age
„I am very happy to be a part of this story, to have a guiding organization, the one which is helping us to improve our position in local community, but only if every one of us is actively involved, we can expect truly and essential changes. No one can do this in name of us and if we are not actively involved in this.”

Ivana 28. age
„Femal activism is also when one named you in masculine gender of your profession, and then you correct them, or when you participate in street actions. Female activism is not a job, not an activity, but a way of living in family, on the street, at work, and at every point of your existance.”

Sonja 21.age
„Local population do not understand what femal activism actually is. It is still considered to be a female versus male chauvinism, and girls and women find this idea repulsive from the begining. We have an obligation to explain them we are only trying to fight for our equality in all aspecst, and not to hate and eliminate men. On the contrary, we can not consider it a succses if we manage to make changes only between girls and women, if we do not do the same thing between men, young men and boys. All of us together should be focus on raising awareness of gender equality, to make it inevitable in future as well as in present.”

EMPOWERMENT OF WOMENFROM VULNERABLE CATEGORIES IN EASTERN HERZEGOVINA

support by CFLI

Long-term goal is improvement of life quality of women from vulnerable categories in underdeveloped Eastern Herzegovina region.
Short-term goal 1 is to contribute to development of personal capacities of 120 women from vulnerable categories through acquisition of new knowledge and skills regarding preparation of business plans and projects in extremely underdeveloped Eastern Herzegovina region.
Short-term goal 2 is contribution to development of capacities of six undeveloped local organizations in extremely underdeveloped Eastern Herzegovina region.

At the beginning of the project,support by CFLI, the Director of the organization, Mrs. Ljiljana Čičković, visited all municipalities in which representatives from local organizations are being engaged as local organizers in order to sign with them a contract on cooperation. Thus, she signed a contract in Nevesinje with the Director of the NGO “Hercegovka”, Mrs. Aleksandra Kravić and in Gacko with the Director of NGO “Centre for Development Initiatives”, Mr. Vasilije Lažetić. On the following day, i.e. December 4, 2013, she signed a contract in Berkovići with the Director of the “Association of Disabled Persons”, Mr. Dragan Samardžić and in Ljubinje with the Director of the “Association of parents with four or more children Ljubinje”, Mrs. Silvija Vujović. In Trebinje a contract has been signed with the Director of the “Association of parents with four or more children” and the Director of the NGO “Children’s Day centre”, Mr. Mitar Milišić. On the same day, a press conference has been organized in the small hall of Municipality Trebinje where the project “Empowerment of women from vulnerable categories in Eastern Herzegovina” has been presented with participation of local organizers.
Our organization printed 120 posters altogether and distributed them to each of the six municipalities (Trebinje, Bileća, Gacko, Nevesinje, Ljubinje and Berkovići) – 20 posters for each local organizer to put them up in their respective municipalities. December was a preparation month for groups with 20 women in each of the listed municipalities. These women had the opportunity to register for participation on five-day educations for elaboration of business plans and writing projects if they belong to one of the vulnerable categories of women, including women victims of domestic violence, women victims of war, disabled women, Roma women, i.e. women from minorities and other categories of vulnerable women. We also used this month for preparation of material for participants. We made a plan for workshop organization that we submitted to local coordinators and started on January 3, 2014 to implement the workshops.
Workshops have been organized on following topics – “From idea to realization – introduction into elaboration of business plans”, “Market research”, “Calculation of economic justification”. “Branding of services/products, marketing and sale” and “Project elaboration”. One-day workshops organized in the following order from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
It is important to stress that the women were very interested, though we expected that a potential risk for this project could be the inertness of women from vulnerable categories. Thus, there were 8 who joined us and we had altogether in Trebinje 20, in Bileća 20, in Ljubinje 27, in Gacko 19, in Nevesinje 24 and in Berkovići 18 participants. Though, there were some women, 4 who appeared only once and never again. Thus, a total number of 128 women and 6 local organizers attended this five-day education. It is interesting that an increased number of women occurred in small and inert communities, which surprised us. On the last workshop, we distributed to all participants certificates for attending the five-day education and the foreseen money, lump sum allowance 50 BAM for travel costs. We have to stress that we had very constructive groups in each municipality and groups were divided on those who wrote projects and those who wrote business plans. In each group we applied as topics those projects/business plans that were necessary or feasible in their respective communities. We put a lot of effort that after the workshops they have ready draft business plans or projects that they might use.
In each of the five municipalities we organized in cooperation with local organizers one radio emission, except in Ljubinje because they do not have currently a local radio. However, the web portal www.mojahercegovina.com spread this information to interested women. Local radio station in Bileća, Gacko and “Korona” from Trebinje can be heard in the neighboring Montenegro in the border area of Nikšić and Herceg Novi and in the border area of Croatia.

ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT OF VULNERABLE CATEGORIES OF WOMEN IN THE REPUBLIC OF SRPSKA

supported by Kvinna till Kvinna

Activity: In municipalityes Trebinje, Gacko, Nevesinje, Ljubinje, Bileća for 30 women victims of domestic violence have been organized three one-day educations in preparation of business plans
-Education/trainings
Organized a total of fifteen one-day trainings for 30 women victims of domestic violence in the five municipalities of eastern Herzegovina. Workshops were conducted in the following order:
Trebinje- “Market Research” (12.03. 2014 in the premises of the Children’s Day Care Centre), “Marketing” (14.03. 2014 in the premises of the Children’s Day Care Centre) and “Creating a Business Plan”, (03.16.2014, in the premises of the Children’s Day Care Centre ) for 10 participants.
Bileca- “Market Research” (10.03. 2014 in the premises of the Association of Parents and Children 4 +), “Marketing” (13.03.2014, in the premises of the Association of Parents and Children 4+), and “Creating a business plan,” (15.03. 2014 in the premises of the Association of Parents and Children 4+) for 5 participants.
Gacko “Market Research” (18.03.2014, in the premises of the Center of development initiatives), “Marketing” (21.03. 2014 in the premises of the Center of development initiatives) and “Creating a Business Plan”, and (23.03.2014, in the premises of the Center of development initiatives ) for 5 participants.
Nevesinje – “Market Research” (16.02. 2014 in the premises of the Association Hercegovka), “Marketing” (11.03. 2014 in the premises of the Association Hercegovka) and “Creating a Business Plan”, (03.17.2014. in the premises of the Association Hercegovka) for 5 participants.
Ljubinje – “Market Research” (13.01. 2014 in the premises of the Association of Light), “Marketing” (14.01.2014, in the premises of the Association of Light) and “Creating a Business Plan”(01.15.2014, in the premises of the Association of Light) for 5 participants.
All participants were given materials during one-day training with refreshments and food. The training is conducted by our member Marija Milicevic. We have had several calls to our organization by women interested in the available sources of funding, around twenty calls. One of the participants developed by herself a business plan for greenhouse production and applied for funding for 2000 KM in Gacko. The purpose of this activity is to obtain new skills and knowledge of women victims of domestic violence.
-Radio shows
In each municipality, we organized one radio show on local radio. Director, presented the objectives and expected results. Purpose of this activity is to inform the public about our project.

Activity : Support women farmers in Eastern Herzegovina to improve their position.
– Mapping
During the second year of the project we worked mostly with women farmers. First we did the mapping of women farmers in Eastern Herzegovina, 71 of them. Mapping of them did not include all women because some could not understand the meaning of our actions and have asked not to be recorded (traditional skepticism in all novelties). Mostly these are women who are engaged in raising cattle usually cow and distribution of milk and / or cheese. Second most common type of farm is growth of vegetables outdoors and indoors (usually chard, peppers, tomatoes, spinach, lettuce, rastan, cabbage, carrots, onions and potatoes). Only one has a chicken farm, in two cases chickens breading. The purpose of this activity was development of database to be able to continue to work with the most vulnerable group.
Meetings
In the municipalities of Bileca, Berkovic and Nevesinje we conducted two meetings. In municipalities Ljubinje and Gacko, where there is larger number of women farmers, we conducted three meetings. And in Trebinje, because of their initiative for creating women’s cooperatives, we conducted seven meetings. During these meeting we surveyed 50 women and 71 provided with printed database with their contact information. The purpose of this activity is to assess their needs and problems and establish mutual cooperation and support.
Output:
-developed database of 71 women farmers in Eastern Herzegovina
-50 Women farmers have expressed their views, needs and concerns through surveys
-Trainings analysis of surveys with recommendations
-71 Women farmer is bound in informal networks

LEGAL REGULATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF SRPSKA THAT TREATS VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE”

support by OSI

Research
During project implementation, we had difficulties with implementation of this activity. It took us a lot of time to find an international consultant who is available and interested to participate in the preparation of research/study “Legal regulations that treats victims of domestic violence in the Republic of Srpska”. In accordance with the agreement with OSI, Ms. Mršević stayed in Trebinje to participate in joint meetings with all researchers (Ms. Lana Jajčević, Radmila Žigić and Edita Ostojić) and the partner organization “Lara” from Bijeljina to agree the development of research methodology. According to the agreement on this meeting, researchers took their obligations as well as all the others who were involved in collecting of necessary documentation, including surveyors, persons working on processing of court cases etc.
Finally, after a rough elaboration, the finalization of the study was done by Ms. Zorica Mršević. The quality of the study “deleted” the delay in the elaboration of the study, which is extremely important. The study encompassed the period until end of 2012 and not 2010 as it was initially planned in order to make it timely relevant for future lobbying of legislative and executive authorities. The study confirmed that the existing court practice negatively influences victims of domestic violence and “stimulates” perpetrators who usually repeat the violence even after violence has been reported. We translated the study into English in order to be able to start a wider campaign and make “pressure” on the local authorities by introducing international institutions/organizations to the situation in the Republic of Srpska. We plan to start a wider campaign in RS in the forthcoming period where we would present the contents of the research to wider professional public as well as conclusions and recommendations.