Promoting community-based initiatives for social inclusion ... - Solidar

AWO HEIMATGARTEN, BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA
In December 1999, AWO Bremerhaven sets up its Heimatgarten division. Heimatgarten‟s mission is to
provide practical support in life for vulnerable people (elderly, disabled, or traumatised persons) who want
to return voluntarily to their native country – Bosnia and Herzegovina, still ravaged by war at that time.
Work started in cooperation with the Schlee / Koschnik task force. Heimatgarten helped 533 people with
resettlement.
Heimatgarten works all over Germany, and its work is special in its individual approach and in that the reintegration
of the returnees is supported and evaluated for up to 24 months after return. During this time,
all the necessary practical issues are resolved, so that a really successful social and economic
resettlement takes place. Measures to improve the local social infrastructure for everybody to benefit from
add to Heimatgarten‟s approach. This way, the old people‟s home in Sanski Most, the NADA Integration
programme for children and adolescents, as well as the “House of Trust” in Srebrenica were created.
In 2003, Heimatgarten conducts, with Serbian participation, the 1 st national conference on drug prevention
in Sarajevo. In 2004, the follow-up conference took place in Subotica, Serbia.
http://www.heimatgarten.de/
AWO SUBOTICA, SERBIA
In 2003, the first vulnerable people returned to Serbia. Up to now, 429 persons have received help and
reintegration support. AWO Subotica assists the returnees with all their practical problems and provides
advice to them.
- Counselling and information for returnees
- Individual on-site research
- Support with obtaining documents
- Assistance for starting own business
- Support with restoring residential property
- Job search
- Support with securing medical assistance
- Special support for children and young people
http://www.heimatgarten.de/index.php?article_id=55&clang=1
SOLIDAR
SOLIDAR is a European network of NGOs working to advance social justice in Europe and worldwide.
With 56 member organisations based in 25 countries (20 of which are EU countries), member
organisations are national NGOs in Europe, as well as some non-EU and EU-wide organisations, working
in one or more of our fields of activity.
SOLIDAR has been active for more than 10 years in the Western Balkans, working for equitable and
sustainable development in the region.
SOLIDAR is engaged in four main fields:
• building the capacity of trade unions and promoting social dialogue
• protection of human rights and democratisation in the region
• income generation, rural development and health and social services
• humanitarian aid and disaster relief, reconstruction, refugees and internally displaced persons
(IDPs) including returnees.
SOLIDAR members, including Olof Palme International Center (Sweden), ASB (Germany), Volkshilfe
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