The construction works on the day care centre for children with disabilities kicked off in Brus. Once constructed, the day care centre will provide adequate environment and improve the quality of lives for some 30 children. Two-story building with 400 square metres of floor space will be erected on the 15-acre lot, along with a child-friendly backyard. The construction of the day care centre is funded by the European Union and the Government of Switzerland, through the European PROGRES development programme, and the municipality of Brus to the tune of EUR95,400 and EUR14,500, respectively.
“Thanks to the new facility, the children, our beneficiaries, will be able to spend time in supportive environment and have professional help at their disposal. Also, children will socialise and improve their skills while their parents will have more time to find temporary jobs and generate income,“ said Tatjana Dokic Milenkovic of the Association for Helping Persons with Disabilities Pcelica which acts as one of the implementing partners in the project.
Apart from considerable improvement in conditions for the day-to-day care of children, the facility will significantly boost Association’s capacity: for the first time since its foundation nine years ago, Pcelica will be able to take care of 30 children, compared to the current nine youngsters.
The works, which should be completed in four months, are being carried out by the Gradjing d.o.o. from Aleksandrovac which had been selected within the procurement procedure called by the municipality of Brus.
The European Union and the Government of Switzerland will support the activities of the European PROGRESS programme, which contributes to the sustainable development of the South and South West Serbia, with a total of EUR24.46 million. Approved projects will be aimed at strengthening local administration creating a favourable environment for the development of infrastructure and economy as well as improving the implementation of social inclusion and employment policy. The programme is implemented by the United Nations Office for Project Service (UNOPS).
The municipalities included in the programme are as follows: Novi Pazar, Ivanjica, Nova Varos, Priboj, Prijepolje, Raska, Sjenica and Tutin in South West Serbia, as well as Prokuplje, Blace, Zitoradja, Kursumlija, Leskovac, Bojnik, Vlasotince, Lebane, Medvedja, Crna Trava, Vranje, Bosilegrad, Bujanovac, Vladicin Han, Presevo, Surdulica, Trgoviste, Brus, Aleksinac, Gadzin Han, Doljevac, Merosina, Svrljig, Babusnica, Bela Palanka and Knjazevac in South East Serbia.
