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Archive file
Pakrac Projects
Overview and budget '96
Pakrac November 20, 1996
Project Update
It is over a year since Operation Flash reintegrated all of
the Serb-held areas of Western Slavonia into Croatia. The town
is rebuilding and there is no sense of military tension though the
town hasn't yet recovered from the war in any way. The atmosphere is
still of a devastated region with a myriad of unresolved issues
that lead to social and political tension. The primary issue in
Pakrac at this moment is the potential return of displaced persons to
the area. This has slowly began to happen and international
pressure has forced the government to accept the return of thousands
of more refugees. Whether or not they will come is another
question. How they will be received is an even larger one,
and the possible repercussions for the town and the project
are very significant.
While the military action in May 1995 was
counterproductive to peaceful resettlement and
reintegration of the area it did, paradoxically, open up many
opportunities for real peace building and trust recovery work
which would not have existed had the town remained divided. The
project is now concentrating its efforts in the reconciliation
field. For two years, international volunteers were the only
foreign civilians who lived and worked on the former Serbian side.
We have numerous contacts and a large reserve of trust on both
sides of the town which puts us in an excellent position to lay the
foundation for returnees and help with the reintegration
process.
The more intensive social work is one reason that the project
is moving in the direction of more involvement by locals. The
ultimate goal of the project is to turn itself over entirely to
locals in the Pakrac area. However, international volunteers
continue to have a place here in Pakrac, volunteers help to
increase awareness and understanding of different cultures,
they also have awareness and understanding of the crisis in all of
Former Yugoslavia, and of communication and peace-building skills. In
addition the project hopes that these skills will be taken back
to the volunteers' home countries and shared with their communities.
Puppet Theater
A sub-project of Volunteer Project Pakrac, the Puppet Theatre
Project began in Pakrac in November 1995 as a non-threatening method
of reintegration and reconciliation. In particular, it seeks to
address the reintegration of Serb children into the local school
system. No extra curricular activities were available to children
from both the Serbian and Croatian sides of the formerly divided
town. The Puppet Theatre was one of the initiatives developed to
address this problem and facilitate the recovery of the war
traumatised communities. It offers children a creative avenue to
develop communicative and cooperative skills and to build self-
confidence and esteem in a non-threatening environment.
The Puppet Theatre Group is designed to be entirely dependent
on the children's participation. By encouraging the children to make
the puppets, construct the stage and play all the roles in the
performances, they learn to take initiatives, handle responsibility
and work well with others.
The children conduct themselves as professionals,
constructively criticising their performances as well as taking
over some additional roles in the production.
In light of successful attendance and an on-going enthusiasm
from children in the community we will continue to use the theatre
to facilitate the normalisation and reconciliation processes.
Through the theatre, the project aims to support the rebuilding
of trust between the two communities as the parents and children
from all sides of Pakrac engage in this non-threatening activity. It
is our immediate goal to continue and expand our work.
Additional activities include pantomimine and shadow theatre as well
as combining elements of classical theatre.
Children's Centre/Kid Space
Originally, the idea for Kid Space grew from the success of
the Puppet Theatre sub-project.
Kid Space would cater to children from the ages of 6 to 12.
It is envisioned that it could act as a meeting place where
children could spend their free time and enjoy both structured
activities and leisure time, and it would also be the venue for
games, workshops and special days. Volunteers would provide
supervision while engaging the children to help take
responsibility for their space. Working together, volunteers,
parents and children would work to coordinate both the
activities and free time within the centre. In the future, we
would like to expand Kid Space by establishing an art program and
library.
Children who are interested in pursuing artistic outlets
of expression have very few oportunities in the Pakrac area.
In order to help provide them with an avenue for expression and
development, we plan to start an art program, which would entail
various mediums: dance, drawing and painting, singing, sculpture,
music lessons, literary discussion groups and a writing forum.
The library facilitates in Pakrac are also
unsatisfactory for children and we hope to fill that void by
establishing our own. The Kid Space library would be aimed
specifically at the children and contain books ranging from
children's stories and novels to non-fiction educational works
on the sciences, history, etc. Through this we encourage the
children to explore and develop their interests on their own
intitiative. In addition, we plan to offer special courses on a
wide variety of topics based on the children's suggestion in order
to provide another way for them to pursue interests outside
school.
Through working with the children and allowing them to take
personal control of their surroundings, it is hoped that they
will begin the slow process of recovery and readjustment. The
volunteers will be dealing with a variety of issues such as
socialisation, recovery and normalisation. In addition, they
will be work to aid in the development of self-esteem and
confidence building within the children whilst ensuring a
stress-free environment away from the pressures of homelife
and parents.
E-Mail Project West Slavonia
The e-mail project was implemented in January 1996 after a
full year of preparation and fundraising. In conjunction with
the Pakrac secondary School and skilled local individuals,
Volunteer Project Pakrac has provided modems and e-mail software
for schools in the Western Slavonia region of Croatia and has set
up a Bulletin Board System (BBS) in Pakrac itself. The e-mail
lessons began with a core group of 25 students and have now grown to
75 students and 4 teachers taught during weekly classes. We now
offer beginning and advanced classes to students and teachers.
Several schools from Western Slavonia have contacted us about
E-mail training. Pursvant to request from school teachers from the
occupied area of Croatia, we are offering technical support and
email training. The interest is growing quickly and more teachers
and students are showing interest in participating. As of July 1996,
we are a part of I*EARN (International Education and Resource
Network)
The aim of the project is to provide local youth with the
opportunity and skills to contact young people from other areas
of Former Yugoslavia as well as individuals from other countries
around the world. By establishing open lines of communication in a
neutral forum (i.e. e-mail), it was hoped that discussion would
replace stereotypes and common interest would replace surface
differences. Children could communicate with other children from
other area of the Former Yugoslavia, they can transcend their
ethnic, religious, gender related or socio-economic differences and
begin the process of healing. By initiating open
conferences on Music, Sports and Games, it was anticipated that
youth would discover these common interest in a non-threatening
way. By encouraging and adhering to on-line netiquette as well as
providing private communication lines, students feel safe to
express their thoughts and feelings in a constructive way
without fear of any consequences.
The project's vision has been expanded recently to include
children from refugee centers. E-mail serves to break up the
monotony of refugee camp life as well as provide an opportunity
for the refugee children to meet students from other areas of the
country. And as it does for young people in Pakrac, this project
introduces a sense of normalization to the children of the camps by
informing them about life outside the refugee camp. The E-Mail
Project is also organizing workshops to bring children from the
refugee camps to Pakrac. Pakrac students will be primarily
responsible for teaching the fundamentals of e-mail to a local
group of young people from the refugee centers who will then return
to the refugee centers and hold their own seminars for the other
children.
In addition to the social healing aspects of e-mail, the
practical side of e-mail is very important as well. The training in
computer skills and the English language (as most of the outside
contacts are written in English) a useful for these children as they
become older and wiser to seek employment either in the Former
Yugoslavia or abroad. Writing letters and exchanging thoughts
over e-mail introduces these skills in an enjoyable way. The
contacts that these youth can make over e-mail, especially the
refugees, some of which will resettle in other countries, are
helpful in alleviating the difficulties of traveling out of the
Former Yugoslavia.
In addition, we have also been connecting NGO's from
Eastern, Western Slavonia and Baranja to email, as email is a
economical and viable form of communication, therefore many NGO's
are anxious to be connected (For additional information, please
see attached brochure).
Photo Group
The Photo Group was initiated in the beginning of July 1995, on
the former Serbian side of Pakrac. During the first two months
of the project children participated consistently, and in the
first four weeks of work the children (ages 7-14) produced
approximately 1000 pictures, of which 170 were exhibited at a
public showing. The exhibition was an avenue for
establishing better connections between the parents and children
within the community. We continued with our work and have now
formed new groups on the former Croatian side of the town, and in
Lipik Orphanage ( Pakrac's neighbouring town )
. Due to the fact that we work with highly traumatized children,
our first task is to help them to regain a sense of control over
their lives. This can be achieved through work and group
facilitation which will encourage the development of their self-
esteem and self-reliance. After initial "lectures" on the usage
of cameras, film and equipment inside the darkroom, the children
are provided with film and cameras. The content of the photographs
is completely at their own discretion and they develop the photos
of their choice on their own (however, the help of our skilled
facilitators is always available when needed). In this way the
children have control over the whole technological process, and
the photographs give a fairly accurate representation of the
children's emotional state.
Community Visits
From the very beginning,, the idea of Community Visits
was not to provide the services or support of the Croatian Social
Service, but rather it was created to fill in the cracks by
bringing extra help to those in greatest need. The project has aimed
to visit an equal proportion of Croatian and Serbian people, and
to engage in minor physical work and to show solidarity with
members of both communities. Recently, together with the
gradual normalization of life in the Pakrac region, the main goal
has broadened towards more in depth work on reconciliation through
building communication skills and supporting the people in the
community as well as introducing alternative ways of communication
and lifestyles. Local people or internationals with excellent
language skills help members of the communities to overcome their
war traumas and contribute to the development of the community.
Helping people became a means for reaching people. By encouraging
local youth to work in the Sub-project we hope to facilitate
the creation of stronger links within the two communities.
Eighty percent of the people we visit are families with
people over 60 years old. They basically need physical help, but also
simply someone they can talk with. The other twenty percent of the
families are younger, and are with children under 18. The empahasis
with these families is more with psychological support than with
actual physical work, and at present we plan to increase the
percentage of younger families who, in the long run, are more
influential in molding the general atmosphere and politics of the town
We now have a local Serbian and a local Croatian woman directing
our Community Visits Program, who are working together with both
nationalities. Our community visiters are also trained nurses and
they are able to offer medical support to the beneficiaries of
the Community Visits Program, many of whom are either elderly or
young mothers with children.
Small Repairs
The aim of the Small Repairs Project is to restore to the
recipients a feeling of security and trust in their homes.
Although over half the homes in Pakrac were completely
destroyed, many suffered only minimal damage which can fairly
easily be repaired by volunteers. For many inhabitants this is the
only way work will be done at present because the war devastated
the local economy, and scattered the family members who formerly
would have assisted in this process.
At present our work consists of repairing widows (broken
during the fighting), sawing and chopping firewood (the main source
of heating and cooking energy), doing other small repairs and
cleaning ruined houses to make them ready for rebuilding.
Development of a co-operative tool lending library, encouragement
of community education opportunities like workshops for young
people, and support for grassroots community projects such as the
building of a kindergarten playground close to the former cease-fire
line are some of our future activities.
At present we have a long term volunteer co-ordinating the work.
Our long term volunteer is from Sweden, but he spent many years
living in Croatia, and hence his knowledge of the language and the
country are a great asset to our work.. The work of small repairs is
being integrated more and more into the Community Visits Sub-
Project as the volunteers involved with the visits in the community
come across a lot of work, not only with the families that they
visit, but also with neighbors and friends of those families.
Our network in the community is thus expanding each day. In the
near future we will not have any short term volunteers to assist
the small repairs volunteer and for this reason, we would like to
attract one more long term volunteer for the Small Repairs Sub-
Project.
Pakrac Project Newspaper: Kako Si?
Our bi-monthly Project newsletter, Kako Si, attempts to
present a coherent and fairly comprehensive picture of the entire
Project both to the local and international community including:
(former) volunteers, sponsors, locals, partner projects, peace
groups, NGOs, officials, politicians, press, parents, and children
around the world. Kako Si first appeared in 1994 with two issues
geared towards the international community. Two years passed
without the newsletter due to funding difficulties.
Recently, we received funding to produce Kako Si for an entire
year and have produced two "new" issues in September and
November. The new Kako Si is printed with many more copies in
Croatian than English (the past issues were all in English) as the
Project moves towards deeper communication with the local community.
Many citizens of Pakrac do not come into direct contact with the
Volunteer Project Pakrac except by reading Kako Si, thus we can
reaffirm our link between Project and community through media.
Kako Si can also help work towards reconciliation by fostering
independent thinking and by providing alternative viewpoints not
found in the local or national press. Kako Si is also one of the
only places that a Serb and Croat can appear side by side in
something approaching dialogue.
Kako Si provides information on the general context of Project
life such as sub-projects, fundraising, editiorials, etc..
Besides information, Kako Si also tries to offer some reflections
upon life in Pakrac through thoughts and impressions of a
personal, philosophical, artistic, cultural or even political
nature. We are attempting to involve more locals in Kako Si
and the direction the newsletter takes in the future is largely up
to them.
Short Term Volunteer Camps
For the last three years, the Project recruted short term
volunteers who came for three weeks to do both physical and
social work. Over 500 international volunteers from 23 countries
have participated in the workcamp. STV camps will be on hold during
the coming winter months, but we anticipate that the STV camps will
resume in spring 1997.
English Lessons
Project volunteers are also giving English lessons at the orphanage
in Lipik. One to three STVs may accompany the LTVs and help teach
the class. The children study grammar in school so the focus here
is on games and contact with international people using English.. It
is useful for both the children and volunteers to be in contact
with people from different circumstances to those in Pakrac, Lipik
and the rest of Croatia. Volunteers will also commence with
English lessons to the community on the former Serbian side and on
the Croatian side of Pakrac and the surrounding villages.
Other Activities
Despite the fact that the STVs will probably have no direct
contact with the other activities linked to the project, it is
valuable nevertheless to have a basic awareness of what else is
going on in Pakrac. In accordance with the project aim to allow as
much work as possible to become self-supporting and independent of
international volunteers, there are an increasing number of
activities which are being turned over to the local community.
Annual Budget for 1996
This Annual Budget includes all sub-project costs in DM.
Project Infrastructure
Office:
Rent @200DM per month 2,400
Electricity, Gas, and Water @210DM per month 2,412
Telephone Bill @300DM per month 3,600
Office Supplies 700
Postage Costs 345
Maintenance of the Office 800
Staff:
Honoraria for Project Manager 4,800
Honoraria for Project Coordinator 7,200
Per Diem for Int'l Fundraiser 2,520
Rents for Long Term Volunteer Houses 9,600
Electricity, Gas and Water @730DM per month 8,760
Infrastructure Total: 43,137
Community Visits:
Participation in Office Costs 1,620
Honoraria for 2 Coordinators 14,400
Fee for Supervisor (8 hours per month) 1,920
Transport Costs 660
Supplies 1,200
(occasional medicines and supplies for families)
Sub-project Total: 19,800
Email
Honoraria for Sub-project Coordinator 7,200
Honoraria for System Operator 7,200
Per Diem for Int'l Volunteer 4,200
Telephone Bill 1,345
Crosspoint Manuals 700
Additional Manuals 812
Consultant Travel Costs 400
Conference Costs 1,400
Sub-project Total: 23,257
(note: additional costs of installation and equipment not
included)
Puppet Theater
Per diem for Int'l Volunteer 4,200
Rent 1,800
Materials 2,910
Tour for 20 children 13,800
Training for Facilitators 830
Sub-project Total: 23,540
Photo Group
Honoraria for Sub-project Coordinator 5,400
Per Diem for Int'l Volunteer 4,200
2 Dryers 800
Materials 21,000
Maintenance of Photo Equipment 800
Consultant Travel Expense 620
Sub-project Total 32,820
Youth Development
Honoraria for 2 Sub-project Coordinator 14,400
Youth Newspapers 3,456
Video Evenings 660
Dance Classes 1,648
Mentor Group for Young Women 1,850
Mentor Group for Young Men 950
Ecology Group 950
Conflict Resolution Workshop 2,016
Sub-project Total: 25,930
Men's Group
Honoraria for 2 group Facilitators 14,400
Training for Group Facilitators 1,440
Materials for Group 160
Sub-project Total: 16,000
Kako Si?
Honoraria for Editor 1,800
Photography Costs 120
Telephone/Fax 370
Layout Honoraria 1,200
Printing Costs 6,800
Distribution 2,500
Travel Budget 90
Sub-project Total 12,880
Small Repairs Program (Incl. Tools Library)
Honoraria for Sub-project Coordinator 7,200
Per Diem for Int'l Volunteer 4,200
Materials 7,908
Transport 1,020
Administration 1,620
Tools for workshop 8,000
Rent for workshop facility 2,400
Electricity, gas, water 1,800
Sub-project Total 34,148
Workshops, Round Tables, Expositions and Concerts
Three Workshops
Rent for Premises 165
Materials 240
Food for Participants 960
Honoraria for Facilitators 1,920
Facilitators' Travel Costs 80
Three Round Tables
Rent for Premises 240
Honoraria for Facilitator 240
Facilitator's Travel Costs 240
Materials and Marketing 32
Two Expositions
Rent for Premises 480
Materials 1,120
Marketing 320
Two Concerts
Rent for Premises 250
Honoraria for Performers 1,600
Travel Costs 160
Equipment Rental 800
Marketing 160
Sub-project Total: 9,007
Project Total: 249,279
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