The professional team of the “Lighthouse” Youth Centre ( animators, psychologist, manager and presiding member of the Youth Council) at the session on 27^th August 1999. discussed  and  unanimously adopted:

WORK PLAN AND PROGRAMME FOR 2000.

1.     Background

    In Prijedor municipality there are 110.000 inhabitants. Before the war Prijedor was, and it is now, a geographical, communicate and regional centre for the nearby municipalities of  S. Kostajnica, K.Dubica, N.Grad (Republika Srpska) and Sanski Most (Federation Bosnia and Herzegovina). In consider of the fact that municipal economy was destroyed by the war, social situation is bad. Over 36.000 inhabitants are beneficiaries of help of the Centre for social work. Around 1/3 of population are refugees and displaced persons. From 01.04.- 01.07. in the area of municipality came back over 500 families in their  pre-war homes. From 22.000 ex-inhabitants of Prijedor, who are registered for return, over 10.000  got settled in Sanski Most and surroundings. If trend of return continues, Prijedor will be the town with approximately 50% of youth refugees and returnees. That fact warns us that position and role of  the “Lighthouse” Youth Centre’s mission  should be more supported. The “Lighthouse” Youth Centre was, and it is now, some place where the refugee children meet the most, and now, it would be also the place for a meeting of returnee children and children of domicile inhabitants.

2.     Objectives of the Centre

            2.1.  General objective:

  Psycho-social help and support for young people, especially traumatized, marginalized and children in social crisis.

          2.2.  Specific objective:

  Realization of the “Lighthouse” Youth Centre’s strategy.

3.     Beneficiaries

         3.1.      Age of beneficiaries

  The Centre’s beneficiaries are young people between 12 and 18 years of age.

         3.2.      Number of beneficiaries 1.7.1999

                                    - total number.....................................................................…..1 200

                                    - number of daily visits to the Centre................................…........100

                                    - regular visitors to the Centre.............................................….....520

                                    - occasional visitors to the Centre.......................................….....480

                                  - members who have moved away from Prijedor........…................86

       - members who have left to study……………….........…..............30

                                    - members who have stopped coming to the Centre…..............….84

        3.3.      Social card of the centre

               - 509 (42.44%) boys and 691 (57.55%) girls

                - 312 (35.98%) refugees

- 106 (8.9)% of the Centre’s beneficiaries are from ethnic minority families, but of the most active center  members, the percentage is much higher, at 16%. In the Prijedor area in general, 5% of the inhabitants are of a nationality other than Serbian

- all members of the Centre are registered in school or University, but 38 teenagers have over 50 classes of unjustified school  absences

            - 28 (3.2%) members are physically or mentally handicapped

            - according to the estimation of the staff, 42 members are potential delinquents                    

            - 736 (61.4%) members live in poverty

            - 25 (2.1%) members of the Centre are returnees

            - 118 (9.9%) teenagers are without one or two parents

            -  55 (4.6%) yoyung people are from broken families.

4.     Methodology

     Methodology of leading the activities of the “Lighthouse” Youth Centre relies on:

•  Collaboration with local institutions such as primary and secondary schools in Prijedor, Ministry of education and culture of Prijedor municipality,

• Collaboration with the youth centres in Republika Srpska (Banja Luka, Dubica, Novi Grad) and Federation (S.Most, Bos. Krupa, Banovici),

• Participating the youth in camping, promotional activities, activities in the field of ecology (in Republika Srpska and Federation ),

• Making possible to the youth that their creative activities present to other people through the public media, TV, radios, performances, etc.

5.     Expected results and indicators

a)        The Centre, from its establishment, has a clear strategy and works continually on its realization. Until now, it

realized:

           - attractive free space for the Youth Centre,

           -  part of equipment for the Service in the purpose of su-financing (9 PC computers, equipment for scanning,         photo-copying, laminating and binding, equipment for producing DEMO-records, equipment for recording CD- disks), and we will further work on that.

b)        It has established a good collaboration between entities and in that regard we expect good results.

c)        It has started a work with returnees.

d)        It has been worked on return of confidence between different nation, tolerance and readiness for compromise.

e)        It’s evident a local influence of the Centre and collaboration with mass media.

f)          In the next year we plan to put in focus the returnee children. Together with the youth centre “Youth house” S. Most, we plan to intensify a work on relief of returnee integration.

g)        We expect that we will, by the help of donors and authority, establish some mini centres in parts of municipality where over 80% are refugees and returnees (Kozarac, Ljubija, Ostra Luka, Hambarine). We estimate that the mission of the “Lighthouse” Youth Centre, realized through the mini-centres, could be important factor for relief of life to the young returnees and their integration in environment in which the families came back.

h)        We plan to expand the present collaboration with mass media (Serbian TV, Independent TV, Radio Prijedor, Free Radio, Fenix Radio, Radio Balkans, Mirko magazine, etc.) Through WEB sites and promotional CD-s, we will try to establish more correct collaboration with potential donors.

Through the strengthening of the Service we intend, until the end of 2000, to increase considerably the resources for self-existing.

6.     Future prospects 

•   Creating the conditions for self-existing of the Youth Centre during the reducing or in the event of the end of donations.

•    Creating the conditions for more ample collaboration of the “Lighthouse” Youth Centre with similar organizations in Republika Srpska and Federation.

•     To pay special attention to the values development of the civil and democratic society by the side of the youth.

•     To spread idea about mission and objectives of the “Lighthouse” Youth Centre in local community and wider.

•     Creating the conditions for opening of the mini-centres in Kozarac, Ljubija, Ostra Luka, Hambarine. Those are the places where will the most of inhabitants be returnees or refugees. We expect that by the side of donors will be supported this idea of the “Lighthouse” Youth Centre.

•   To support the motivation for work by the youth, with marginalized categories of inhabitants, especially old and exhausted people.

Providing plan for 60% of resources from budget for 2000.

Background

International humanitarian organization “Terre des hommes” financed in the years 1996. and 1997. completely budget of the “Lighthouse” Youth Centre, and in !998. 80%, in 1999. 60% and in 2000. it will finance 40%.

The “Lighthouse” Youth Centre plans, in the year of 2000, to provide 60% resources of planed budget. Those resources we plan to realize from donors- domestic and international, and by way of self-financing.

Our previous work was positively evaluated by international and local organizations, from which the Youth Centre has received written recommendations.
a) International:

•  Terre des hommes,

•  UNICEF

•  UMCOR

•  Lutheran World Federation.

b) Local:

• Municipal team for implementation of refugees returns and return of the displaced persons.

•  Municipal Ministry of science, culture and  education.

•  Humanitarian organization “Merhamet”.

The Youth Centre was also orally recommended by many other organizations.

2. We have provided certain technical means and equipment with which our Service can realize fixed income for the “Lighthouse” Youth Centre. On the basis of mentioned, we appraise and expect that we can provide the following resources. (See Table 1.)

Table 1.

  Tabular overview of realization 60% of resources from budget

7.     Dangers and risks

The evaluations of the “Lighthouse” Youth Centre professional team are, that for work and Centre’s mission  could be the following dangers and risks:

• Unforeseen socio-political circumstances  in relations between different entities.

• Conflicts, initiated from side, in professional team of the “Lighthouse” Youth Centre.

• Exception to the present strategy and mission of the “Lighthouse” Youth Centre and a hindrance of the Youth Centre’s independence of work.