Serving a small, rural municipality in southern Kosovo, Handikos Kaçanik, a local non-governmental organization, works on a daily basis to promote the rights of people with disabilities and bridge communication between municipal officials and citizens.
“Micro organizations,” serving remote and vulnerable communities, like Handikos, are a trusted presence and the backbone of their communities. They have an invaluable understanding of the needs of the communities they support. But these organizations, which run on the dedication and determination of a small staff and volunteers, often need support themselves.
USAID’s partner, Democracy Plus (D+), a civil society organization in Pristina, specifically targeted local partners with annual budgets under 50,000 EUR that serve smaller communities outside of Kosovo’s major cities. While working together with the organizations to create community solutions, the D+ staff also saw an opportunity to help them become stronger and more sustainable.
They created ultra-tailored learning opportunities designed to meet each organization’s specific needs. Elmihane Malsiu, Handikos’ executive director, shared her experience working with D+. “Together with the mentor, Granit Ternava, we drafted our organizational strategy…now we have a framework [a template for a strategic planning document] which we will use to draft our organizational strategy in the future.” Having just finished the new plan in February 2022, it is already helping Handikos strengthen its relationships with the municipality and donors.
Because of the strategic plan, the municipality has provided Handikos with a bigger space to expand their children’s educational and psychological services; their assembly member has advocated on Handikos’ behalf for the municipality to build a special facility for them; Handikos is applying for licensing at the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare to allow them to expand services to people with disabilities; and Handikos’ plan for opening a cafeteria to be managed by people with disabilities already has a funder ready to support part of the efforts.
With these significant efforts underway, Handikos’s investment in strategic planning will have a lasting positive impact on people with disabilities and their families for years to come.
Democracy + for USAIDKosovo