Anticipation, successes and challenges. During the first year of Loza Foundation our focus has been to get the operations up and running and to broadcast our message to the world. The vision for our second year is to dig deeper and start seeing results. We are, for instance, extending our operations to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“During 2018 our goal is to get twice as good and twice as many!” says the initiator of the foundation, Sabina Grubbeson.
2017 was mostly about launching the pilot project in the institution for disabled people at Demir Kapija, Macedonia, continue our research work and build up the newly started charity foundation. Loza Foundation plan to continue the research in Macedonia during 2018 and is also expanding into Bosnia and Herzegovina. This spring, founder Sabina Grubbeson will visit institutions and organisations in Tuzla and Sarajevo to reach vulnerable people subjected to particularly poor living conditions. In parallel, there is a project being run where the focus is health, identity and future prospects for the people at Demir Kapija, Macedonia.
“We are striving to give people a more humane situation in their everyday life; for them to be allowed to have personal belongings and also have the possibility to wash and keep themselves clean”, says Sabina Grubbeson.
Members of the Swedish Association of Podiatrists will travel down to Demir Kapija as volunteers and educate the staff in medical foot care. Dental care is also included in the project in order to give the residents at the institution the help they need to take care of their own hygiene.
“We are also looking at possibilities of moving patients out from this sort of institutions and into a more home-like environment. I hope that a few of them will be able to move into a group home of their own before the end of the year. We are looking for a house that can accommodate 4-5 residents and hope to be able to offer these people a real home”, says Sabina Grubbeson.
This autumn, Loza Foundation will participate at the Book Fair in Gothenburg and also the Forum for Human Rights in Stockholm. There are also plans for various lectures in Stockholm, Goteborg and Malmö to increase awareness and share information about the work that Loza Foundation is doing.
“It’s important to tell people about the desperate needs of these countries and how we all can make a difference. We hope these lectures will be an eye-opener and a way to broadcast what we do to support vulnerable people in some of the poorest countries in Europe. ”
As Loza Foundation is entirely dependent on contributions, Sabina Grubbeson hopes that more companies or individuals will choose to support the organisation.
“This Christmas a school in Varberg organised a collection where the proceeds went to Loza Foundation. That gives me great hope for the future and makes me believe in humanity and spirit of generosity. In order for Loza to survive and be able to carry out our projects, we will need at least 40 companies to connect with us as corporate ‘friends of Loza’ during 2018”.
Sabina Grubbesons hope for the rest of 2018 is that the projects in Macedonia and Bosnia will be successful and that people in vulnerable, precarious situations will get the chance of a better life and be respected as valued human beings.
“This will not be achieved overnight, but I have a positive feeling and it seems to be going in the right direction. I just got back from a week in Macedonia, where we had a meeting with the Minister of Social Policy, Mila Carovska. She told us there had been several decisions made to improve the life and situation of disabled adults and children”, Sabina says.
She is hoping that the foundation will grow at least double the size when it comes to volunteers and staff.
“We are also looking for co-founders for the foundation, i.e. companies that want to take on a partner role in Loza Foundation”, says Sabina Grubbeson and points out that running a charity foundation is all about teamwork.
“It requires lots of passionate people, working together to reach a joint goal; a brighter future for the most vulnerable people in Europe.”