EDUCATION – THE WAY OUT OF POVERTY
21.11.2012
On the occasion of the World Day of Children, the president of Palilula Municipality Boban Dzunic, with his associates and project team of Society for children and youth development OPEN CLUB in Nis that with the support of UNICEF works on the project `Development of social centers in south east Serbia`, visited the space of social center that is in the shack in Crvena Zvezda Palilula settlement. The general aim of the new project of Open club supported by Palilula, according to Tamara Simonovic, programme manager,is a contribution to development of developmental-educational centers as a net of separate social centers (with the project were taken into account also municipalities of Pirot, Prokuplje, Lebane, Bojnik, Surdulica, Vladicin Han) that are answering the needs of local communities over reaching community members and giving support, directing their work to innovative developmental and educational services.

This is only one part of activities Palilula Municipality, in cooperation with the organizations of civil societies, is realizing in solving actual problems of socially most jeopardized social groups in its territory specially the youngest population – emphasized president of the Municipality while meeting the parents of Roma children who successfully continued education. From our humble budget we will support the equipping of bathroom of developmental- educational center. We bought a faucet, heater, water heater and set up installation so that families with children in the neighborhood that do not have sewer and water systems could not achieve their hygiene needs. However it is necessary to do something with the looks of the settlement and dump place that is next to the road in Dusana Popovica street. About the current problems of this population the president Dzunic announced that he would inform and ask for the help of Mayor of Nis but also ask for the bigger presence of public communal enterprise Medijana and communal police in the terrain.

Our problems are much bigger from the problems with the waste said Bajazit Ramic, one od the parents in the settlement. Here we have problems with electricity, water, sewerage system and poverty but let us all go step by step. I myself do not know how to start, but frankly I think we should start from sewerage system and water. This waste here is made by us mostly. People do not have where to throw waste and then they come here.

Starting from January in this Center new concrete activities will start based on the work with young people and children.

Those activities will, according to the words of the organizers of this meeting, be in the area of education, since education is the most important segment for escaping poverty and long term establishment of better conditions for the life in community. Up to now we have worked also with Roma and not Roma children and we want in future to as much as we can together organize inclusive activities for the children from the territory of Palilula, said Tamara Simonovic. President of Palilula Municipality immediately reacted and this we very much appreciate and we are glad for it. Immediately after recognition of the aim of the project president Dzunic suggested the discussion with settlement representatives. For the first time in this settlement we have three high scholars and we are putting all our hopes in them. We hope that we will have the support of community and that they will be the example how obstacles can be overcome.

UNICEF from 2002 to 2004 supported the work of children in Roma settlement Crvena Zvezda, Palilula. With the support of Swiss agency for development and cooperation for these activities previously was provided montage type of object – shack that is under the authorization of the City of Nis. Society for the development of children and young people Open club has been working from 2010 in this place with young people and children. Up to now they have realized three projects with the resources of Dutch Kingdom and Kingdom of Belgium.