For people with disabilities to become part of society
Since 2017, the Loza Foundation has worked to improve the living conditions of people with disabilities who are located at the Special Institution in Demir Kapija in North Macedonia. At the institution, 200 people with various disabilities live in very difficult conditions.
In December 2019, the Loza Foundation was approved by EU to implement the EU-funded project TIMOR together with the two local organizations CeProSARD “Center for the Promotion of Sustainable Agricultural Practices and Rural Development” and the “Association for Special Education and Rehabilitation”. For three years, the project will move people with disabilities from the department in Demir Kapija to smaller group homes where they will be able to live in dignified conditions with the help from personal assistants. The project works in collaboration with the Special Institution in Demir Kapija and Demir Kapija municipality.
The project “Together for Introduction of More Opportunities and Respect” will for three years develop grouphomes and train personal assistants who will work in grouphomes. The people with disabilities who will move out needs to be prepared to understand and learn how the society works. The project also includes raising awareness in society through knowledge about people with disabilities to prevent prejudice and counteract resistance. With hope that those who meet society, many of them for the very first time, will be treated with warmth and respect from their fellow human beings.
Loza Foundation works to enable people with disabilities to be a part of society like everyone else. That people with special needs in addition to the physiological needs such as food, health and hygiene should also have the right to security in a home with personal belongings with access to the aids required for each individual to develop as a human being.
The project is funded by the European Union and Loza Foundation.