Step Up! To make invisible vulnerable children and youth visible!
Project activities aimed to empower vulnerable youth and children, increase their capacity to participate in civil society and acquire the skills needed to improve their living conditions and develop and communicate critical success factors to vulnerable youth and orphans, including learning the digital skills required to succeed in today's digital age.
Period of implementation: 2022 - 2025.
Donor: European Union
The first purpose is to empower vulnerable youth and children The second purpose is to give them the skills they need to improve their living conditions The third purpose is to build their capacity to participate in civil society activities
Activities included:
Providing counselling services and psychological support to those affected by violence and abuse, as well as youth and children from a variety of contexts to develop key knowledge and skills for socioeconomic readiness
Guidance and support in implementing small grants, business mentoring, networking with local services, and business development training
Completing career guidance training and implementing readiness skills for practical activities in the community
Developing additional skills, training for the profession, and business training with a strategic focus on engaging with the community through reflection, engagement, and demonstration.
Beneficiaries of the project were more than 1000 orphans, vulnerable children and youth, including homeless and abandoned children, as well as the youth in difficult life situations; local communities; 3 special educational institutions and public organizations dealing with children with disabilities and children in difficult life situations, 4 vocational lyceums.
The Project started with establishing partnerships, networking and research which ensured the successful implementation of the activities. The next step was focused on capacity building, which aimed at the enhancement and improvement of the capacity of the beneficiaries and project participants on issues related to coping with difficult life situations. This stage was one of the core stages of the project since it focused on supporting and improving the social and economic situation of the beneficiaries through obtaining new skills and practical knowledge.
One of the important steps of the project was the “Youth Group Programme”. The goal of the ‘Youth Group Programme’ was to allow youth to better integrate into future life through improvement and building up their skills and knowledge. Particular attention was given to strengthening the capacity of vocational schools that teach and nurture children who are exposed to difficult life situations. The Project provided training on sewing, and computer skills, including design. It is planned to conduct also training on vegetable planting in vocational schools.
The expected results were:
Six sub-grants given to vulnerable youth from selected communities or special boarding schools for start-ups
Two sub-grants to address the problems of young people with disabilities
Educational institutions to get equipment and technical support to provide three IT classes, two sets of gardening equipment, three sets of laundry facilities, and two sets of equipment for (small) sewing workshops.
Active participation of 3-5 urban and rural boarding schools and communities in project activities.
Collaborative development of practical skills for vulnerable youth and professional care for victims of violence and abuse
Development of specific skills and practices that allow target groups' transition to sustainable sources of income.