The next NGO I met with was not what I was expecting! It is a student run newspaper at the major university in MK- Sv. Kiril i Methodi. The newspaper is called Излез/Izlez. They were started 2 years ago, upon the founder’s return to MK from a year abroad. Her grant required her to start a project upon her return. She chose, with a few friends to start a newspaper that is critical of the educational system in MK.
They decided to focus on this because there are many problems with the educational system in MK according to the students in it. This is not the only thing the newspaper focuses on, they also do articles on then environment or other issues that students care about. The newspaper/journal promotes social activism. They will publish articles on local culture or investigative work. They aim to produce 2 issues per semester. This has created a total of 6 issues so far.
When the newspaper started there was no student run media at all (now there are 2 radio stations). People were complaining all the time, but no one was doing anything. They hoped to empower their peers and prove that students can be responsible. There are 8 people on the editorial board, who came together out of a series of meetings about how to best serve the community. (Last year there were 5 editorial board members.)
They have not only worked on the newspaper, but they have also worked on other projects. They helped to digitize the library through a grant they received. They have also donated books to their collection from a grant they recieved. They have applied to other grants, but haven’t heard back yet.
All of the funding sources that they had mentioned so far were foreign, and they stated that finding local sources is very hard. They want to try to stay independent, so that their research and comments are not taken to be one party or the other. They are afraid that if they take money form the university or government or party they will be forced to dumb-down their criticism to satisfy their donors. They want to be able to say what they find or want to say without fear of having their funding cut (a very real possibility here). They are also trying hard not to be labeled in anyway. They want to keep it independent.
Thus, they haven’t attempted to gain money or support from the government or any student organizations (the Student Government in MK is apparently very different than in the US and “un-officially” sponsored by the government.
They want to start engaging younger students as many of the original editorial board members are leaving (aka graduating). The newspaper has had positive results and responses to their reports, but to get anyone to actually take responsibility for the organization will be difficult (and has been up until this point). When they distribute the newspaper, they do so both online and in person. Sometimes leaving it around university hot spots, or physically handing it to people.
Their goals for the future are to keep the newspaper open and sustainable. They want to expand to hosting events for students. They also want to help any student that comes to them with a workshop or help in applying for a project. They really want this to become a force for the students.
Showing posts with label youth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label youth. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Interity Alpha Omega
This was the first meeting I had with an NGO not in their office, but for good reason. They are changing offices right now and the new one is not set up. Technically, they are still looking for new office space. They lost their last office due to an inability to pay the bills anymore because of a loss of funding. So we met over tea in a local restaurant.
Integrity Alpha Omega is a varied NGO based in Skopje. According to their website, they aim for the “creation of new opportunities for all people, for development and improvement and for education. This organization invests in people, in their capabilities, interests and in their will. The creation of strong integrity among the people, people who will be independent, fulfilled and with healthy character, is the main goal for this ngo.”
They began 4 years ago when they realized that people were complaining without doing anything about it. They constantly heard people state that “you have to be close to the parties” to receive any help from the government. They had a shared vision to face the problems that trouble society head on. When they began searching for donors and projects that interested the founders, they began to narrow down their ideas from “helping society” to their current specific focus. They focus mostly on healthy living and an active lifestyle. They believe that this is key to a successful future. As part of this, they also help with youth empowerment. When they saw that no one was challenging these kids, they wanted to help them become a better person. They also help with renovation in local schools or hospitals when it is needed. Ideally, they told me, they like to respond to the different problems they see every year.
They have completed many different projects over their four years:
They find it hard to find sponsors in MK because, they claim, many people still have the mindset of “money laundering” organizations. They try to fight this perception by being completely transparent in their use of any money they receive as well as filing timely reports with their donors. In addition, if they (or other NGOs) receive funding it might only be for the specific projects but not for overhead costs. Also, they claimed that due to their local nature it is even harder to get funding for their operational costs. They have run into positions where they are offered services or “things” instead of money for them to provide services.
When asked about the government, they said that in the beginning it was really difficult because they weren’t part of any specific political party and they wanted to keep it that way. Eventually through, according to them, their dedication to their cause and not giving in convinced the locals and government that they were here to stay. Their main issues have been with other city governments (not in Skopje) wanting a cut of the grant; specifically asking as a bribe. (Struga, however, was very supportive and easy to work with.) They haven’t received funding from the MK government, but have had numerous grants from foreign embassies. The US embassy was apparently very helpful in their beginning stage in convincing others that this NGO was important.
They were offered space in the NGO center here by the goverment, but they turned it down. The space is shared with any other NGO that wants to use it. Basically it has free internet and desks, as well as a conference room. But this is not what they were looking for, they wanted a separate space.
They do have big goals for the future. If they can get funding they want to open a day center for youth. They also want to start a program for those youth in an orphanage to provide them with the skills that they will need to live on their own after they turn 18. They want to continue the programs that they have created (such as Weekends of Change) as well as address new problems that they see. But they are currently searching for more funding in order to make these goals come true.
Integrity Alpha Omega is a varied NGO based in Skopje. According to their website, they aim for the “creation of new opportunities for all people, for development and improvement and for education. This organization invests in people, in their capabilities, interests and in their will. The creation of strong integrity among the people, people who will be independent, fulfilled and with healthy character, is the main goal for this ngo.”
They began 4 years ago when they realized that people were complaining without doing anything about it. They constantly heard people state that “you have to be close to the parties” to receive any help from the government. They had a shared vision to face the problems that trouble society head on. When they began searching for donors and projects that interested the founders, they began to narrow down their ideas from “helping society” to their current specific focus. They focus mostly on healthy living and an active lifestyle. They believe that this is key to a successful future. As part of this, they also help with youth empowerment. When they saw that no one was challenging these kids, they wanted to help them become a better person. They also help with renovation in local schools or hospitals when it is needed. Ideally, they told me, they like to respond to the different problems they see every year.
They have completed many different projects over their four years:
- Weekends of Change: They group youth of different ethnicities together to show them the common language of sports. They help form multi-ethnic clubs that are sports related over these weekends. The kids will spend time together and learn new sports together.
- Go Pink: A walk against breast cancer that they host every May
- Run Towards the Goal: A running fundraiser for different charities. They have sponsored special needs and Roma charities, and school/hospital renovations with this money.
- A triathlon in August to just get people out and about in a healthy way.
- Orphanage Sports Camps: A sports camp for those children in an orphanage. They believe that most of the time the orphans are ignored and with this camp they were able to reach out and not only empower them, but teach them more about sports!
They find it hard to find sponsors in MK because, they claim, many people still have the mindset of “money laundering” organizations. They try to fight this perception by being completely transparent in their use of any money they receive as well as filing timely reports with their donors. In addition, if they (or other NGOs) receive funding it might only be for the specific projects but not for overhead costs. Also, they claimed that due to their local nature it is even harder to get funding for their operational costs. They have run into positions where they are offered services or “things” instead of money for them to provide services.
When asked about the government, they said that in the beginning it was really difficult because they weren’t part of any specific political party and they wanted to keep it that way. Eventually through, according to them, their dedication to their cause and not giving in convinced the locals and government that they were here to stay. Their main issues have been with other city governments (not in Skopje) wanting a cut of the grant; specifically asking as a bribe. (Struga, however, was very supportive and easy to work with.) They haven’t received funding from the MK government, but have had numerous grants from foreign embassies. The US embassy was apparently very helpful in their beginning stage in convincing others that this NGO was important.
They were offered space in the NGO center here by the goverment, but they turned it down. The space is shared with any other NGO that wants to use it. Basically it has free internet and desks, as well as a conference room. But this is not what they were looking for, they wanted a separate space.
They do have big goals for the future. If they can get funding they want to open a day center for youth. They also want to start a program for those youth in an orphanage to provide them with the skills that they will need to live on their own after they turn 18. They want to continue the programs that they have created (such as Weekends of Change) as well as address new problems that they see. But they are currently searching for more funding in order to make these goals come true.
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