Emergency shelter assistance to the Gjilan/Gnjilane AOR and the Klina Municipality for minority populations, Kosovar returnees and Presevo refugees : final report

The specific objective of the program was to improve housing conditions in the Klina Municipality and Gjilan/Gnjilane Area of Responsibility (AOR) for the winter of 2000-01. The project involved the provision of materials to encourage families to construct a winterized room or rooms in their war-damaged house in order to prevent displacement of families. The primary beneficiaries in the Gjilan AOR were people in both ethnic Albanian and minority Serb and Roma communities. ARC focused on dealing with the immediate needs of the beneficiaries, with consideration for Albanians from the Presevo area. The targeted population in the Klina Municipality was the majority Albanian population, as well as minority groups, mostly Roma, who were living in sub-standard living conditions during the winter months. On balance, the program was a success. All activities were completed according to the plan. ARC achieved more than a 96% room completion rate and more than a 90% occupancy rate for all the rooms. ARC exceeded the goal of 85% occupancy and completion rate. In addition, with a no cost extension ARC was able to complete 1,154 rooms, vs. a target of 1,000. The need for shelter in Klina Municipality is still a high priority, since the population cannot afford to rehabilitate the significant damage inflicted during the war. Collaboration with the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) has been extremely straightforward and productive due to OFDA"s leadership in Kosovo. Information regarding OFDA regulations and guidelines was easily accessible and clearly understood. OFDA field staff regularly visited the programs in Klina and Gjilan/Gnjilane. These visits only enhanced the integrity and quality of our programs. The shelter engineers appreciate the frank and constructive criticism that kept them on track. Another reason for the smooth running of the program was OFDA"s and ARC"s persistence in getting the donor and NGO community to work in concert. For example, the program worked with other NGO partners of the European Commission"s Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in order to complete its shelter assistance goals and vice versa -- through winter clothing distribution, shared shelter materials, and beneficiary list verifications. ARC was able to provide materials to more than 75 rooms assisted by Centro Regionale di Intervento per la Cooperazione (CRIC), an Italian NGO, so that CRIC could complete more roofs in the Gjilan/Gnjilane AOR. In addition, the network of information on available resources enhanced ARC"s programs and gave it greater access to materials.