Форуми во заедницата

 The Pokrov Project was chosen as the project on which the citizens of Strumica would spend the MKD 6 million donated by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the municipality of Strumica.

 This project involves the creation of the first-ever professional Drug and Alcohol Rehab Center in Macedonia, and on the other hand, it will make Strumica the first town in the Balkans to possess all the necessary structures for this target group, said the members of the working table on Vulnerable Groups who were in fact the ones to propose and develop this project.
 The Pokrov Project costs MKD 8 million, of which MKD 6 million will be provided by the Community Forums Programme, and MKD 2 million by the partners – the Macedonian Orthodox Church on which land the center would be built and the local authorities that would purchase all bekaton products produced by the persons undergoing rehabilitation in the center, said Sokrat Mancev, representative of the Vulnerable Groups working table and president of the NGO Izbor from Strumica.
 The Center would initially host some 40 persons, but thanks to the partners the center is planned to have a development phase and in a few years it would be able to host up to 250 persons on rehab.
 The forum process in Strumica went in a fair and democratic way, according to CIRa’s representatives.
 Svetlana Milenkova, head of the programme in this municipality, said she is pleased with the fact the citizens of Strumica had decided by themselves in which project to invest the money, adding that the end of the forum sessions did not mean the end of the Programme, and that there would be further work on the overall process and development of the chosen project.
 Another forum session is planned for next summer, to present to the citizens what has been accomplished with the funds.
 The participants in the forum process and the guests at the final session consider this Programme to be of great benefit.
 Diana Stojcevska said that the Community Forums had helped her learn how to communicate with institutions, how to write project proposals, and most importantly, develop leadership and communication abilities.  
 For Nenad Georgiev, the whole process is more than welcome both for the participants and the municipality. His greatest compliments went to CIRa’s representatives that invested themselves fully into the overall forum process and were completely dedicated to the work with the working groups.
 “Excellent organization, they gave us the knowledge and support, as well as all the assistance that helped us develop the winning project,” said Biljana Miceva.
 “I think that the best project won. Everything was transparent and impeccable, and I believe we will continue to implement projects of vital importance to the municipality,” said Zoran Uzunov.
 The sixth forum session, which took place in the Army Club on December 4, was attended by some 120 citizens of the municipality, guests from SDC, and the Mayor of Strumica, Zoran Zaev, who welcomed the participants and publicly thanked the citizens and the Programme implementers.
 He stated that he was committed to finding funds to realize the projects that were not selected in order for the citizens to have better living conditions in the municipality.