CASE STUDY
Lighting a Brighter Future
Youth in a multi-ethnic neighborhood spearhead effort to light a blighted area, improving security.
“Since this street is now light, we feel safe. Young people from this street can spend more time together after the sun sets; older people started to go for walks in the evenings.”
The youth of a multi-ethnic neighborhood of Mitrovica identified poor light on the streets as a serious detriment to quality of life in their area. Working with USAID, they led the installation of nine new street lights and the repair of nine existing lights, restoring use of the streets after dark by young people and the elderly.
Life was difficult and scary in the dark streets of a multi-ethnic neighborhood of Mitrovica. Upon the arrival of dusk, the children of Kodra e Minatoreve would scatter, afraid of what hid in each dark corner. Security and safety in the poverty stricken neighborhood was already an issue, and the darkness only ex-acerbated the problems and limited people’s mobility.
At a two-day USAID workshop held in Struga, Macedonia, a group of Kosovo Albanian and Kosovo Serb youth from the neighborhood proposed a remedy – simply install more street lights to benefit the more than 1,300 residents. The young people offered to take the lead on the project, using the skills they had acquired through the USAID Support to Kosovo Young Leaders Program.
With a grant of €830 from the SKYL program and another €280 from the community, nine new street lights were installed and nine existing lights were repaired. As a result of this initiative, the youth brought the people in the neighborhood closer together. “Since this street is now light we feel safe. Young people from this street can spend more time together after the sun sets; older people started to go for walks during the evenings,” said one of the young leaders, who identified himself only as Alexander.
The success of the project has boosted the self-confidence and motivation of the youth and the community in general. “Our youth have had opportunities to attend trainings from several NGOs, but this project is something concrete, said Nebojsha Maric, a community leader and the Director of “First Step”, a local NGO involved with the project. “Training youth how to lead and be a leader is wonderful, he added. “They started from a mere idea and ended with the implementation of the project.”
The deputy director, Nexhat Imeri added: “This project will offer good opportunities for other joint activities between Serbian, Albanian and other communities who live in Kodra e Minatoreve in North Kosovo. Our future will be brighter with our young leaders.”
Posted: January 12th, 2012 |
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