Save the Children, with the support of the European Union Office in Kosovo, announced today the distribution of sub-grants to thirty local organizations licensed to provide social services to the most vulnerable groups in Kosovo.

The distribution of sub-grants for the provision of social services was made possible within the project "Strengthening the provision of social services to the most vulnerable groups in Kosovo in response to Covid-19", a project funded by the European Union and implemented by Save the Children in Kosovo, with the support of Save the Children in Sweden.

The 30 organizations selected in the first round will provide direct social services to girls, boys, women and men who are in a difficult socio-economic situation. These organizations will also work closely with local institutions, other stakeholders and Centers for Social Work for social support for the most vulnerable groups. This support will benefit more than 3500 beneficiaries, including children and adults living with disabilities, other children living in vulnerable situations, care givers/ members of their families, the elderly, victims of violence and providers of services in 24 municipalities of Kosovo. Sub-grant support reaches the amount of about 1.8 million Euros. 

The 30 organizations selected in the first round will provide direct social services to girls, boys, women and men who are in a difficult socio-economic situation. These organizations will also work closely with local institutions, other stakeholders and Centers for Social Work for social support for the most vulnerable groups. This support will benefit more than 3500 beneficiaries, including children and adults living with disabilities, other children living in vulnerable situations, care givers/ members of their families, the elderly, victims of violence and providers of services in 24 municipalities of Kosovo. Sub-grant support reaches the amount of about 1.8 million Euros.  

Of the 30 organizations supported in this round, 10 of them are committed to providing community-based residential and day-to-day residency services; 6 of them are defined in the provision of home-based family services for children and adults in need and 14 are defined in the provision of services for victims of violence against women and / or children in the family and trafficking.

Mr. Ahmet Kryeziu - Country Director of Save the Children in Kosovo was also present at the launching event, where he emphasized the role of the Save the Children office in Kosovo towards improving social welfare for the most vulnerable groups in the country. "Through this project, we are jointly committed to strengthening the capacity of local non-governmental organizations to improve the quality, availability and sustainability of local and community-based social services." 

Mr. Tomáš Szunyog - Head of the European Union Office in Kosovo / Special Representative, also attended the launch of the sub-grants, and stressed the importance of finalizing the Law on Social and Family Services in order to ensure the sustainability of social services. "It is important that Kosovo institutions finalize the new Law on Social and Family Services, which will enable the sustainability of social services, by allocating the necessary funds and clarifying the competencies between the central and municipal level.” "It will also enable public institutions such as the Centers for Social Work to expand social services for vulnerable groups, and licensed NGOs will have the opportunity to specialize in service delivery and capacity building."

Additionally, Mr. Ilir Kapiti - Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Finance, Labor and Transfers, among others, said “During 2020-2021 the provision of social and family services by public and non-governmental providers was associated with difficulties in comparison to previous years. However, the Ministry of Finance, Labor and Transfers through the Department of Social and Family Policies is continuing the process of licensing NGOs in the provision of social and family services, thus, so far 50 NGOs have been licensed.”

More information about the project and the activities / services that will be provided by the grant-winning organizations can be found at sherbimetsociale.org- the official website that was launched at the event.