The community center in Gjakova

The Project

The main goal of the project is to offer a common space that offers an opportunity for various activities to women of all ages.

Objectives of the project.

The main objectives of the project are to:

1. Create spaces for activities through the establishment of various clubs.
2. Provide a safe and trusted space for women to discuss physical and mental health issues.
3. Provide tools, ideas and mentors to engage women in handcrafts and learn or advance their skills.
4. Develop strategies and models that attract members of the community to partake in the activities offered.
5. Identify means of sustainability for the project in the long run through partnerships and community participation.

The idea behind the project is to offer a common space that would offer various activities to women of all ages, thus increasing interactions between different age groups and offering the opportunity for women to learn from each other. A list of activities to take place in the Community Center will be proposed. Each club will be encouraged to have a leader which will keep track of administrative things within the club and collaborate with the Center Administrator e.g., supplies needed. To access the list please click HERE.

Each activity is proposed to have a set hour and days when it will take place and they will be managed accordingly by the leader of each club with support from SI Gjakova and the Center Administrator.

The Community Center is proposed to initially begin work with a reduced and depending on interest, hours of operation will be expanded. During the operation hours, an Administrator will be on site to assist club leaders, members and serve as the point of contact with management

Context

At the present, Gjakova has a huge lack of a common area where women of various ages can engage in various activities that can showcase their talent and capabilities, or help them develop new skills. Economic under-development, changes in the way if living (children moving away or living on their own) have had quite an impact in the social engagement of many women, particularly those who are near retirement or already retired. This lack of a common area where women could socialize while engaging on a group activity has come to our attention many times from our members and other women who know of the organization and its mission and work. As such, we have begun raising funds in an effort to initiate a project that would tackle this issue, initially at a smaller scale and then expand based on express of interest and need. Should the project be successful, SI Gjakova intends to expand it to include men of various age groups as well, as this issue is plaguing both genders.

Evaluation – Follow-up

The evaluation process will be done on a continuous basis since this is a project that will always seek to increase participation from community members. Therefore, the project will be evaluated according to the specific criteria (and some of the questions used to measure each criteria):

1. Schedule – a specific schedule will be put in place to efficiently coordinate all the activities as well as to ensure the center meets its goal and objectives in a timely fashion. (Do clubs run on time? Are weekly and monthly reports submitted in an effective manner by the club leader? Do the proposed milestone of the center fall within the agreed upon timeline?)
2. Quality – a continuous quality review of the activities will be conducted, followed by formal reports on the quality of services provided at the center. (Do the clubs offer an inclusive environment? Are the preset standards being met?)
3. Cost – cost is a crucial part to this project. Therefore, continuous monitoring of the expenses incurred as well as the status of membership fees will be essential in ensuring the continuity of the project. (Is the project operating within the set budget? Is the project attracting enough members to ensure membership participation ties in well with the budget?)
4. Satisfaction – this is the most important aspect of the project. Without member satisfaction, there is technically no need for such services. Membership satisfaction will also be continuous, with special emphasis on potential issues or complaints to ensure those are addressed properly and in a timely fashion. (How to members feel about the activities they participate in? What changes or ideas would help the activities better address their needs?)

Thank you to the following Clubs/Unions: