Strengthening the sustainable socioeconomic integration and development of individuals and groups through local partnerships
For the last 30 years, the people of the Western Balkans have faced dire humanitarian catastrophes: wars, earthquakes, floods, migrations, the ongoing COVID- 19 pandemic, as well as challenges in achieving sustainable development and ensuring no one is left behind in the process.
As an internationally active aid organisation with over 40 years of experience in humanitarian aid and development assistance, Help – Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe helps people around the world, including in Serbia, to fulfil their right to determine their own lives.
Whether it be emergency aid or fighting poverty with in-kind grants and skills enhancement to earn a regular income (nearly 8,000 families supported in economic empowerment), or building and renovating homes (over 3,000 homes), and securing their living conditions, our activities are primarily directed towards disadvantaged individuals and groups, with a portfolio of nearly 60 million EUR in Serbia until 2022. Help cooperates with more than half of Serbia’s administrative units (a total of 85 cities and municipalities in 2022) and relevant ministries and institutions, while forming long-term partnerships with local communities and associations.
Comprehensive and sustainable aid to empower those in need can be depicted most vividly through the complex migration management project.
“The League of Roma officially cooperates with Help on migration management and has been generating an operational network in Serbia’s rural and urban areas since 2018. This is an important partnership of joint experience and results achieved. We are very proud of this network support mechanism that we have created with Help and maintained for four years, assisting returnees and other vulnerable groups.” SKRUG – League of Roma
Being a coalition of non-governmental, civil society Roma organisations, the SKRUG-League of Roma embraces a network of over 60 Roma organisations nationwide across Serbia.
Within the scope of the Help project, this network serves as a focal point for communities of returnees and disadvantaged people. With the guidance and cooperation of Help, GIZ, DIMAK and other CSOs, this network of local Roma organisations gained new skills and experience in the field of the social inclusion of the Roma population. By introducing operational tools throughout the implementation of activities, the network has improved its own capacities over the course of project implementation.
Whether it’s the provision of relevant information or referral to a relevant local, national or international organisation, institution or public authority, or assisting in the distribution of firewood to the most vulnerable fellow citizens in the midst of the pandemic, the network of the local Roma organisations plays a vital role in the Roma minority’s social inclusion and sustainable development. The goals set and expected results are being met through joint interventions and Help’s guiding principle: helping people to help themselves comprehensively. Moreover, one of Help’s strategic goals in the subsequent projects is capacity building and strengthening local organisations and self-governance.
For more information on Help assistance in Serbia visit: www.help-serbia.org.rs and worldwide www.help-ev.de.