US Ambassador Showcases Support to Predominantly Serb Community of Kosovo

U.S. Ambassador Christopher Dell and Gračanica/Graqanicë Mayor Bojan Stojanovic donned hard hats to break ground for a USAID-supported Cultural Center in the village of Badovac/Badovc. The area currently has no place for community gatherings, exhibitions and cultural performances.

The groundbreaking, widely covered by Kosovo media, took place amid on-going unrest in northern Kosovo. Ambassador Dell used the groundbreaking to highlight that Kosovo has made great progress in inter-ethnic relations and that Kosovo Serbs increasingly rely on their representative institutions to address their needs. The Ambassador also presented the community with the keys to two new mini-buses. The buses and the Cultural Center were funded through USAID’s Implementing Positive Change Program (http://www.usaid-ipcp.org/cms/). Local community forums had identified transportation for residents as their most pressing need.

The day’s events concluded with a visit to a nearby farm. Its owner told the Ambassador and Mayor how much he and other farmers have benefitted from a USAID dairy support program. Crimson Finance Fund (http://cffkosovo.com/), supported by USAID, Norfund, the Norwegian Government and Crimson Capital Corporation, facilitates loans to farmers for the purchase of high quality cows and equipment intended to improve the quality and efficiency of their dairy operations. Veterinary support is provided under the USAID Kosovo Private Enterprise Program (http://www.usaidkpep.net/advCms/?id=3,125,125,125,e). The project has resulted in economic cooperation between Kosovo Serb farmers and a Kosovo Albanian dairy processor.