During the first day of his visit to South West Serbia, Head of Sector II Operations of the Delegation of the European Union Steffen Hudolin visited today in Brus the works on the construction of a Day Care Centre for developmentally challenged persons which will provide appropriate conditions for day care and improve the situation of around thirty beneficiaries in the territory of the municipality.
The construction of the Centre with facilities for day care is funded by the European Union and the Government of Switzerland, through the development program European PROGRES, with 95,400 Euros, while the Municipality of Brus, whose implementing partner on the project is the Association for Helping Mentally Challenged Persons “Pčelica”, provides co-financing in the amount of 14,500 euros.
“This project is one of many excellent examples of how municipalities, local institutions, the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the European Union listen to the expressed needs of local communities and work together to accommodate them all over Serbia," said the Head of Sector II Operations of the European Union Delegation, Steffen Hudolin, when visiting the works, and pointed out that in the future it would be important to think about the sustainability of the Day Care Centre.
He stressed that, through European PROGRES alone, the EU and the Swiss government had so far invested in South East and South West Serbia 5.5 million euros in infrastructure projects, many of which are focused on improving access to social services, education and health care, especially for marginalized social groups.
"At the new facility, our beneficiaries will have an adequate and pleasant environment where they can spend time in a protective setting with the support of professional staff. Also, through community involvement and improvement of social skills, we will help their integration into the community," said Tatjana Dokić Milenković from the Association “Pčelica”. She pointed out that in this manner support will be provided to the families as well, especially parents, who will be able to find temporary jobs and generate income while their children are in the Day Care Centre.
The Mayor of Brus, Milutin Jeličić, said that the municipality had recognized the importance of this project, and that the completion of the works for the construction of a two-storey building, with a total area of 400 square meters and a courtyard, designed and equipped for children, was anticipated for August 2017.
In Brus, Steffen Hudolin paid a visit to Bojana Punoševac, who received dental equipment worth 10,000 euros with the support of the EU and the Government of Switzerland, and started her own practice. The donors have supported women entrepreneurs through European PROGRES with 357,000 Euros, and 45 women have been provided with equipment to start their own businesses.
At the meeting between the EU Delegation Head of Sector II Operations, Steffen Hudolin, and the Mayor of Bruce, it was assessed that the EU support was of particular importance for boosting the competitiveness of the local economy and economic development. Hudolin congratulated on the progress made by the Municipality with respect to the efficiency in issuing building permits, for which it received an award at the 10th annual conference of the National Alliance for Local Economic Development (NALED). More specifically, in all 34 municipalities in which European PROGRES is implemented, NALED carried out a project with the financial support of the European Union, the Swiss Government and the Government of the Republic of Serbia, aimed at supporting the implementation of a system for electronic issuance of building permits in order to strengthen the capacity of urban planning and construction departments in local self-governments.
In the course of the second day of his visit, on 12 May, EU Delegation Head of Sector II Operations Steffen Hudolin will visit Novi Pazar and attend the event "A Meeting with Europe" organised to mark Europe Day.
