[KWN-Voices] Vol. 1, Iss. 3 - English

[kwn-news at alb-net.com]

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KWN VOICES: Your link to the Women of Kosova
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Volume 1, Issue 3 - April 4, 2002
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IN THIS ISSUE:

* Editorial: Invigorated by Spring

* KWN Website Launched!

* Network News:

- Anti Violence Campaign Continues in 2002
- KWI Transitions to Local Womens' Councils
- A Success Story - from Rural Kosova to the Information Superhighway
- Sweet as Sugar in Gjilan

* Member Profile: Liria in Gjilan

* About KWN Voices

*

EDITORIAL - Invigorated by Spring!

Because of the winter weather and women's inability to travel to
Prishtina, KWN meetings were postponed until March, 2002. But this
doesn't mean that KWN members have been inactive during the last 3
months. In fact you will see below that we were busier than ever.

Over 55 women attended the March meeting. After sharing information
about work over the last few months, the KWN elected an Executive
Board to run the operations of the Network. Over the course of the
last two years we have grown to 33 local NGOs and we are in need of a
board to help coordinate activities and campaigns.  12 women have
seats on the Board representing each region and different ethnicities
living in Kosova . The Board will meet monthly (two weeks before the
regular KWN meeting).

It is almost three years since the war is over. War left many scars
inside each of us. We did not have time to take care first of
ourselves because we gave the priority to women who suffered more in
this war.

Then we gave priority to new groups that were formed after the war.
Over all this period we had ups and downs. Sometimes we even hurt
those close to us.

This year, finally, we started to look inside ourselves, going deep
into the pain from the war, dealing with the pain, and releasing it
from ourselves.

Now we can look behind and see what happened and we can be proud of
what we achieved until now. It has been difficult time before and
after the war, but WE DID IT.

As Eleanor Roosevelt said: 'I would rather lose in a cause that will
someday win, then win a cause that will someday lose'.

Finally A BIG THANK to all the international women who were here
during this period, supporting our work, encouraging us, laughing with
us, crying with us, dancing with us. We would not make it without YOU!

Sincerely,
Igballe Rogova, member of KWN Board
March, 2002
Prishtina, Kosova

*

KWN WEBSITE LAUNCHED

After a long few months of work the KWN website has finally been
launched. For more information on our work and the work of our members
please visit http://www.womensnetwork.org

Many thanks to all the people who worked hard to launch the website.
Special thanks to Teresa Crawford and the staff of IPKO.

*

NETWORK NEWS

CAMPAIGN AGAINST VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN CONTINUES IN 2002

The KWN has relaunched its performance of 'OUR STORIES' (RREFIMET
TONA), a series of monologues modeled on Eve Ensler's Vagina
Monologues. The first show of the new year was in Prizren on March
5th, organized by the Municipal Office Prizren. Over 150 people
attended.

On March 8th, International Women's Day, they performed for the
employees of PTK (Post Telekom Kosova) and in the textile factory,
Fabrika. Starting from April there are 10 municipalities that are
waiting to show this performance. Afterwards the performance will be
shown in Macedonia and Albania.

KWN had requests from Western countries like Switzerland, Germany and
Sweden to show this performance for the Albanian people living in
these countries.

The song, My Mini Skirt, is one of the highlights of the show and is
at nr.2 in Kosova Top 20.  It is also being played on Radio and TV
stations in Albania.

One outcome from the performance has been an increase in the number of
women who are speaking out about the violence against them. Many are
calling KWN members seeking the assistance. To address their needs the
KWN is forming a working group led by the Center for the Protection of
Women and Children and Norma to investigate the issue of support for
these women who are coming forward.  One option under discussion is to
create a referral system that informs women who call about services
for victims of violence in their own communities.

*

BRIEFING OF KWI LOCAL WOMEN'S COUNCILS:

Ms. Beti Muharremi, a representative of Kosovo Women's Initiaitve
(KWI) Local Women's Councils (LWCs), briefed the KWN on activities of
LWCs maintained last year and the plans for this year.

There are six LWCs in total formed under KWI with the aim of
localizing the ownership of KWI funds. When KWI started in 1999 and
continued in 2000, the funds were disbursed to women's projects
through International NGOs/Umbrella Agencies. But, under the pressure
of local women and their groups to have the full ownership over KWI
funds and have local women make decisions on distribution of funds,
UNHCR/KWI initiated the establishment of this new concept under KWI -
the Local Women's Councils.

Last year, the LWCs had the responsibility to receive projects of
women's groups throughout Kosova, review them, make funding decisions,
authorize the disbursal of funds to approved projects and, as very
important activity, the LWCs were monitoring the implementation of
approved projects.

During 2002, the LWCs will go a step further and, apart from the
responsibilities carried during 2001, will focus more on the finding
ways of functioning as an independent body in 2003. In this regard,
one of the greatest support to be given to LWCs, is the support of the
local Association of Women Lawyers - NORMA. Also other organizations,
international and local, will support the LWCs in different fields,
such as providing training and creating links between LWCs and other
organizations, structures and donors - local and international.

At present, the LWCs are identifying office space within their
respective AOR (area of responsibility). It was noted a great support
of the local authorities in providing the office space to the LWCs.
Also, at present there are going on the information sessions on the
elections of new LWCs for 2002. The elections are planned to be
completed by 15 of March. All participants, especially local groups,
are invited to take place in these sessions and elections. The local
groups are encouraged to send their candidates for LWCs members as
they are not representing only their groups but they are representing
all women in their area/region.

Ms. Muharremi also informed that in 2001 LWCs have approved 167
women's groups projects throughout Kosova. The project were of
different types: psychosocial, education, capacity building, income
generation, legal/health/education, etc. The projects that LWCs
approved are of Albanian women's groups, minority women's groups and
particular support was given to mixed, Albanian and minority, women's
projects.

For background on the Kosovo Women's Initiative (KWI) visit:
http://www.usofficepristina.usia.co.at/kwi/kwi.htm

For an analysis of the KWI visit:
http://www.advocacynet.org/news_view/news_28.html

*

Editor's Note:

Heroina Telaku, a first year student in the Economics faculty at the
University of Prishtina and eRider (non profit technology assistance
provider) for The Advocacy Project, has been working for the past 6
months to connect the members of the KWN to the Internet.  We asked
her to write a short article describing her work and the progress of
the KWN members.

Heroina is not new to the NGO scene in Kosova.  As a teenager she was
an active member of the Post Pessimists and she continues to work with
Forum.  While still in high school she worked with Albanian and
Serbian politicians getting them connected to the Internet and using
e-mail to communicate with each other.

The KWN connectivity and training project is being implemented by The
Advocacy Project (http://www.advocacynet.org) with funding from the
Open Society Institute - Budapest (http://www.osi.hu).

*

A STORY OF SUCCESS - from rural Kosova to the information superhighway

The computer training and Internet connection for members of KWN is
designed to make their work easier in the future and their
contributions more efficient.  By using computers and getting on the
Internet, the efficiency of their work is improving and the impact of
their work and contribution has been broadened and become an
inspiration for many others.  Being connected to the Internet is a big
advantage for communicating within the network as well as with the
outside world, the Internet has made many resources available to the
members of the KWN.  The achievement of getting connected has not been
without its difficulties.  Yet, despite them, Kosova is a great place
to persevere.  The women of Kosova know very well how hard it is to
make it here, and their achievements during this training are so much
greater for all the difficulties involved.

The training for the first groups started on October 21.  The ten
groups on which accurate information was available started receiving
training immediately upon the first visit.  In other organizations,
the first visits had to be evaluation visits to determine the exact
state of affairs.  Before training could commence it was necessary to
ascertain whether the groups had computers, phone lines, what were
their priority needs, etc.

The main problem during this period were the first General Elections
held on November 17.  The months of October and November were
characterized by great civil society activities.  Many of the groups
to be trained were involved and often busy organizing different events
related to the elections.  This made it almost impossible to organize
trainings and in many cases and the groups asked to be contacted in
early December.

Unfortunately, after the Elections, the weather conditions in Kosova
deteriorated significantly.  The heavy onset of winter, frequent snow
and sub-zero temperatures all the way through to February made road
conditions hazardous and traveling almost impossible.  On two
occasions, I was forced to take refuge in local Hotels, as the roads
became impassable overnight.  The weather improved during mid February
and the project has effectively continued ever since.

A constant problem in the past was the poor quality of analog
telephone exchanges in many towns in Kosova.  Combined with the
unavailability of telephone lines these problems made dial-up
connection to the Internet almost impossible.  Some groups managed to
get phone lines installed, only to have them disconnected during the
process of changing the telephone exchanges to digital technology.
This upgrade changed the phone numbers throughout the region and
further disrupted connection to the dial-up providers.  The overall
effect was the delay in effectively connecting the groups.
Fortunately, the new connections are of a higher quality and despite
considerable delays, this problem has almost disappeared.

It is a source of great pride for me to be able to say that this
project helped some groups not only with computer training and
connectivity, but also with other projects.  An example of this is
Liria from Gjilan.  When first visited they told us that they have
machines that can package sugar for cafes, but that the machine lay
dormant due to a lack of capital.  By spreading the information
through the network and further abroad we helped them to contact
donors.  Since then this case has become a success story and source of
motivation for many other groups.

The groups in Peja were experiencing difficulties since the computers
they used were owned by UNHCR.  UNHCR planned to remove the computers
by the end of 2001.  The groups were concerned about how they would
continue their work without the computers.  They shared this concern
with me as trainer and I decided to personally contact UNHCR.  After I
informed them of the connectivity and training project, UNHCR decided
to leave the computers until June, 2002.  In the mean time, the
organizations continued to look for other funding for the computers,
which they have already found.  These achievements are partly due to t
he initiative to provide computer training for the KWN.

Despite all the difficulties, the training in places like Peja and
Gjakova is finished.  In other places, the training is ongoing, and
the progress is more than encouraging.  It is a great source of pride
and achievement for me to see the progress of KWN members from
beginners to computer proficient persons.  In addition to making their
work easier and more efficient the informational superhighway has some
new additions - the women of Kosova are finally connected in every
sense.

*

SWEET AS SUGAR IN GJILAN

In an effort to increase job opportunities for women in a province
where an estimated 75% of people are unemployed, LIRIA, KWN Network
member in Gjilan, recently launched a small business run by women that
manufactures sugar packets that in turn are sold to cafes throughout
the city.

It took approximately 6 months for the project to be realized. Last
year LIRIA surveyed the local market and determined that all the sugar
packets in Gjilan region were imported from Italy. They asked at
several cafes if the café owners would buy their sugar packets from
LIRIA if they could manufacture them. Every café they approached said
yes.  LIRIA then purchased the machine for making the sugar packets
but were unable to secure funding to purchase sugar, paper and pay the
initial few months salary of the women while they worked to turn to a
profit.

Teresa Crawford, technical director of The Advocacy Project, visited
LIRIA in October, 2001 as part of her work with the members of KWN.
She listened to their plan and immediately thought of US Civil Affairs
(CA) soldiers who were passed in the Gjilan region. Part of the CA
mission is to make connections between local people and the resources
available for projects such as this.

Teresa contacted the Gjilan Team Chief, CPT Kristafer Ailslieger about
the project who then passed the information to the KBS (Kosovo
Business Support) program which is an initiative of USAID.

A staff member from the KBS described the project, 'The women are very
much motivated and moreover they have impressed me with a good quality
product and logo that express integrity for all ethnicities in Kosova.
Unfortunately for the lack of working capital the machine is not on.'

The KBS has helped LIRIA develop a business plan and secure a small
business loan. LIRIA has begun producing sugar packets and is
currently employing several women in the operation.

For more information on the KBS visit: http://www.usaidkbs.com

>>> In the next issue of KWN VOICES read about other business projects
initiated by members of the KWN and about our Anti-Trafficking
Campaign. <<<

*

MEMBER PROFILE: WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION 'LIRIA' in Gjilan

>>> 'Our goal is to have one center to meet the needs of the women in
Gjilan. We are females and we work as a team while exchanging ideas
with women from other areas within Kosova and including women from
Albania, Bosnia, Montenegro, Croatia, Macedonia, and Serbia.' (Liria)
<<<

Liria, founded in 1997, is a non-governmental organization based
Gjilan, Kosova. Our center is located in the city center of Gjilan
where we provide women with the skills to become full integrated into
local society.  We encourage women to continue with higher and primary
school education in order for women and girls to have a greater role
within their communities and to let their voices be heard.

We work to strengthen the position of women in society by training
women in the business and agricultural sectors and enabling women to
become economically self-sufficient.

Liria predominantly works with the women who have been affected by the
war, specifically focusing on women and girls who are now heads of
households in Gjilan and its surrounding 13 villages.

HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR WORK

* Educating women on issues of domestic violence and the trafficking
of women and girls;
* Women's rights within society;
* Educating women on election issues and voter awareness;
* Psychosocial support programs focusing on war trauma with widows and
wounded women;
* Working with refugees from Macedonia and Serbia;
* Our future project is to create a sugar packet business to have
independent funding in order to continue and sustain the work of our
organization

CONTACT INFORMATION:

WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION 'LIRIA'
Nazife Jonuzi
Tel. +377 44 125-729
or
+ 381 28 25348
Gjilan, Kosova

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About the KWN Voices
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KWN Voices is published monthly by the Kosova Women's Network (KWN).
The KWN is made up of over 32 women's groups from throughout Kosova.
We hope that you find the information we disseminate of value and that
when we make a call for action we can count on your support.  Please
forward this newsletter to others and encourage them to join.

TO SUBSCRIBE: send an e-mail to kwn-news-request at alb-net.com with only
the word 'subscribe' in the body of the message or visit
http://www.alb-net.com/mailman/listinfo/kwn-news

Inquiries and submissions can be sent to info at womensnetwork.org.  Back
issues of the newsletter can be found at http://www.womensnetwork.org.

This newsletter has been produced with generous support from
OSI-Budapest http://www.soros.org

Editorial Board:
Igo Rogova, KWN Board Member
Ilirjana Loxha, KWN Information Officer
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