Project Background: HandiKos was established in 1983 to provide care and act as a pressure group to the government on disability and accessibility issues. Everything HandiKos does is free to users and it has a multi-ethnic basis. There are 13 centres throughout Kosovo and the budget is €150,000 annually. Finnish government provides lots of funding but is cutting it back next year. HandiKos have been gifted impractical goods, cars without easy access, and without funding for fuel, drivers, tax, insurance etc. Similarly they need money for heating as their donated building is vast. Although this makes it perfect as an exhibition space. HandiKos collect and deliver children to the centres for physiotherapy and psychotherapy.
The primary project consists of repairing and producing new wheelchairs from older ones that have fallen into disrepair. All the wheelchairs are donations and come from different countries and there is very little uniformity between them. The problem is that when the chairs break or get damaged specific parts need to be ordered from the country and manufacturer of origin. This is expensive so it would be beneficial to have a couple of engineers working on the wheelchairs to service them. In the basement of the HQ there is a room with tools and spare parts that the volunteers could use. The engineers could also make ‘sit-up’ chairs for the disabled children.
Accommodation: There are plenty of hostels that people can stay in for approx €10 per night, such as Guest House Velania (based on 3 people sharing) in Pristina. Velania is the affluent housing district of Pristina and is very safe with plenty of international police and embassies in very close proximity. It may also be possible to find accommodation in Hajvalia although there needs to be more research on this issue.
Travel: There is a bus that goes to the bottom of the road of the Hajvalia HQ which costs €0.40 each way. Once at the bottom of the road there is a ten minute walk to the HQ. A taxi for up to four would cost less than €3 from the centre of Pristina.
Funding: Afrim has a budget of €150,000 per year for all 13 centres so there is a serious lack of funding for the centres. During the winter in the Pristina there is not really enough money to keep the heating high enough for the children to come and be exercised and in summer there is not enough money to operate the installed (donated) air conditioning. Any donations would be accepted. There is the possibility of fund raising, for example printing t-shirts in Kosovo and selling them in Oxford would be possible.
Skill base of the volunteer required: The volunteers should have completed or be doing an engineering degree with practical experience of engineering. They would have to feel competent enough to work with tools and parts to construct or repair wheelchairs.
Activities in the projects (possible daily routine): This project is not limited to, but does centre on, building and repairing wheelchairs and building ‘sit-up’ chairs. This project could be combined with other projects that run in HandiKos such as physiotherapy and teaching of the children. The engineers may not need all the experience of working with children that the volunteers solely working with them need. However, it would of course be beneficial.
Development and future opportunities: The first project will take place in the Pristina centre and with time, if the projects are successful, then we could look at developing and expanding to other centres throughout Kosovo. The wheelchair project can be worked in accordance with another project so the volunteers are able to have different experiences. Every year HandiKos will have been donated chairs and others will have fallen into disrepair so this is an ongoing project. Similarly there will always be a need for the ‘sit-up’ chairs.
Possible security and safety concerns: There may be health and safety concerns regarding the use of high powered tools, the volunteers would have to ensure that they insurance would cover any accidents. There are limited security concerns working just outside Pristina. However, there is the possibility of high levels of distress brought on by working with very disabled children. This is a concern because some of the children will have varying degrees of scarring brought about by bed-sores or surgical operations.
Last updated: April 26th, 2009