Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08SKOPJE347
2008-05-28 12:28:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Skopje
Cable title:  

MACEDONIA: TEXTBOOKS AND LENDING LIBRARY FOR ROMA

Tags:  PREL PREF PHUM MK 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0014
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSQ #0347/01 1491228
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 281228Z MAY 08 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY SKOPJE
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7379
UNCLAS SKOPJE 000347 

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR PRM/MATTHEW R. JOHNSON

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PREF PHUM MK
SUBJECT: MACEDONIA: TEXTBOOKS AND LENDING LIBRARY FOR ROMA
REFUGEE CHILDREN -- APPLICATION FOR FY 2008 PRM JULIA V.

TAFT FUND FOR REFUGEES

REF: STATE 6779

UNCLAS SKOPJE 000347

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR PRM/MATTHEW R. JOHNSON

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PREF PHUM MK
SUBJECT: MACEDONIA: TEXTBOOKS AND LENDING LIBRARY FOR ROMA
REFUGEE CHILDREN -- APPLICATION FOR FY 2008 PRM JULIA V.

TAFT FUND FOR REFUGEES

REF: STATE 6779


1. SUMMARY: Embassy Skopje proposes granting 20,000 USD of
the FY 2008 PRM Julia V. Taft Fund for Refugees toward the
purchase of school textbooks for 395 Roma refugee children.
The textbooks will promote access to education for Roma
students for the 2008/9 academic year, and the creation of a
lending library of the texts will serve future generations of
students. Post proposes to implement the project through the
local NGO European Civil Organization (ECO),and has the
authority and capacity to award the grant to the implementing
organization before the end of the current fiscal year. End
Summary.

BENEFICIARIES
--------------

2. As of January 2008, the Republic of Macedonia has a
refugee population of 1,860. Nearly all refugees in
Macedonia are of the Roma, Ashkalija and Egyptian (RAE)
ethnicity and fled from Kosovo in 1999. The target
population for this project is a group of 395 Roma refugee
children living the Shuto Orizari neighborhood who are
seeking to enroll or continue in school for the 2008/9
academic year. This population will be served by a new
refugee educational/community center, modeled on the success
of a similar center in another Skopje neighborhood.
Beneficiaries will not be limited to the 395 Roma students
expected to enroll for the 2008/9 academic year, as the
lending library of required textbooks will also benefit
future generations of students.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION
--------------


3. Difficulties facing Roma refugee children undermine their
access to education. Lack of textbooks, tuition and
transportation costs, lack of clothing, and difficult living
situations and study environments often act as barriers to
educational access among the refugee Roma population. Last
year the Government of Macedonia approved a new work plan for
developing an integration strategy for refugees in the
country. Education is a key component of the local
integration of refugees.


4. Under the umbrella of a larger educational/community
center, this project aims to eliminate the "textbook
barrier," increasing access to education among refugee
children through the acquisition of required school text
books and the creation of a lending library for primary and

secondary school students in the under-served Shuto Orizari
neighborhood. With the assistance of UNHCR and NGOs
including the European Civil Organization (ECO),Sumnal and
the Red Cross of the City of Skopje, the new
educational/community center will address a number of the
other barriers to education, including tuition fees, school
readiness, clothing, and adequate nutrition for the 2008/9
academic year. However, UNHCR funding is not sufficient to
address the prevailing problem of a lack of textbooks for the
2008/9 academic year. Thus, Post proposes to close this gap
in funding through a grant from the FY 2008 Julia V. Taft
Fund for Refugees.


5. Post will implement this grant through the European Civil
Organization (ECO) of Skopje, a local NGO implementing
partner working closely with UNHCR on Roma refugee projects.
ECO's staff of five persons has been integral in the
development of the educational/community center and in
creating and implementing projects and strategies for
improving access to education and academic achievement among
the Roma refugee population. ECO has signed a code of
conduct to implement UNHCR projects that is consistent with
the standards set out by the UN Inter-Agency Standing
Committee (IASC). Post can provide a copy of the signed code
of conduct.


6. ECO will work with the local schools to determine the
final list of books required by students in each grade for
the 2008/9 academic year, and will, on the basis of
competitive bidding, select a publishing company from which
to purchase the required textbooks. The funding would cover
395 sets of required textbooks for students from kindergarten
through high school, with the largest number of students in
grades 1-8. In order to obtain textbooks, parents will be
required to sign a statement committing to return the
textbooks to ECO at the end of the academic year, allowing
the books to be used for the next generation of students.
Books will initially be distributed at the new
educational/community center in Shuto Orizari, and the
lending library also will be housed there.



7. Post intends to maximize public diplomacy opportunities
related to the project, through press releases and press
coverage of the distribution of the books, including possible
participation of the Ambassador and other Post
representatives at a kick-off event at the new
educational/community center. Post will also seek public
diplomacy opportunities when a lending library is created
from returned text books at the end of the 2008/9 academic
year.


8. The proposed project would fill a critical funding gap
that hinders access to education among Roma refugees in
Macedonia. Since education is a key component of local
integration of refugees, assistance from the Julia V. Taft
Fund for Refugees would both aid in improving educational
access and achievement among Roma refugees, and also assist
the Government of Macedonia in making important progress
toward integrating refugees. Therefore, Post requests 20,000
USD from FY 2008 PRM Julia V. Taft Fund for Refugees funding
to implement this project.


Milovanovic