Helping communities rebuild their lives

DECAN, Kosovo - At the heart of the Balkans is Decan, a rural municipality in western Kosovo on the Albanian border. For centuries Decan’s inhabitants lived off the land, with almost three quarters of the workforce employed in agriculture.

The war, however, severely disrupted economic activity. In the 1999 conflict, most of Decan’s inhabitants fled and almost three fifths of all houses were totally destroyed. Most of the Agro-Kombinat, the collective farming infrastructure, was severely damaged and a lot of private farming equipment disappeared. Poverty increased and unemployment, particularly among youth, rose dramatically. Basic infrastructure was lacking. The breakdown of social services worsened conditions.

In these trying circumstances, the most vulnerable social groups - particularly the disabled - suffered the most.

The case of Decan is representative of the challenges the World Bank faces in helping people rebuild their lives in Kosovo. Post-war reconstruction tends to focus primarily on emergency assistance. Yet a strong commitment to long-term, sustainable development is crucial for assistance to bear fruit.

Financing Small-Scale Projects

The World Bank’s first step in Kosovo was to help create an organization known as a Community Development Fund (CDF). Drawing on experience in managing similar funds in over 25 countries (including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the West Bank and Gaza, as well as many countries in Eastern and Central Europe), Kosovo’s CDF finances small-scale projects identified by the communities themselves.

Eligible projects include small-scale infrastructure; community services, such as programs for youth, war widows, the elderly, and the disabled; and business development activities. Although the CDF finances projects in communities all over Kosovo; resources especially target poor and marginalized communities where investments are most needed.

The fund’s objectives are twofold: to provide rapid, targeted support to help communities rebuild their shattered infrastructure and improve community services; and to support the development of local governments to allow them to serve their communities in a transparent, fair, and accountable manner.

Tackling Decan's Water Problem

Water supply in the Decan area has always been inadequate. For a people dependent on agriculture, the lack of reliable water was particularly problematic. Then in 2003, more than 5,500 inhabitants from Decan and four neighboring municipalities, decided to join forces to build a water supply system, 22 kilometers long, that would provide good quality potable water for the next 25 years. However, at the project’s completion, the local water utility declined to take over the maintenance of this system.

Villagers responded by proposing to take on the task themselves. The CDF provided theoretical training, which included the rules and procedures of maintenance, and practical training on how to eliminate potential defects. Elected community representatives were given basic tools to perform maintenance work. Improving the water supply stimulated not only the development of agriculture, but also helped create a sense of community. “The water supply system is a historical event for our village, because it solved a problem inherited since its founding days,” said a Decan resident.

Supporting the Most Vulnerable: Decan's Disabled Residents

The CDF also helped pioneer new social services in Decan in cooperation with Handikos, the association of paraplegics and paralyzed children of Kosovo run by a wheelchair-bound woman with incredible energy.

When Handikos launched an array of projects supporting the most vulnerable part of Decan’s population, it had to overcome a number of social barriers and prejudices. Handikos proceeded to engage local authorities and the community as a whole. A fundraising campaign -the first in the region- was followed by a learning course to empower disabled women. Women, who until then rarely left their homes, were drawn out of their isolation and taught to embroider and sew.   

These projects have had considerable non-financial effects: handicapped people and their relatives now feel better integrated in society and more self-confident. Today, dozens of disabled women, capable of preparing traditional dowries for local brides, have become independent and productive members of their households.

In the same spirit, special activities were designed for disabled children. Children, mostly from the rural areas, gather in the Handikos center, rehabilitated by the CDF, and participate in psychological and physiotherapeutic activities. This is a unique opportunity for children to feel comfortable in society. Children socialize, play and learn to adapt under the watchful eyes of volunteer instructors. “My son can do things for himself he could never do before,” said one proud mother at the center.

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Read more about the Community Development Fund  project