Surmounting ‘Double Discrimination’ in Tuzla: American Friends Service Committee
American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
MDG # 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
An AFSC-supported community facility in the northeast Bosnia-Herzegovina town of Tuzla offers access to technology, support, and training to women and youth with disabilities.
The Lotosice Organization is a local organization dedicated to serving Tuzla’s disabled citizens, particularly women and children. Founded in 1997 by Enisa Bratanovic, a disabled community activist from Tuzla, Lotosice had been renting space in a defunct factory until AFSC, in cooperation with the Finnish Free Foreign Mission, provided financial support to refurbish a suite of rooms, tailoring the space to meet the needs of Lotosice’s members.
“Most disabled women are unemployed, uneducated, and homebound,” said Ms. Bratanovic. ”They face double-discrimination. We wanted to pull them out of their homes and help them feel useful and active. We wanted them to be able to contribute to their families.”
The new facility includes a computer resource center, a dressmaking room, a small woodshop, a kitchen and an accessible bathroom, and a meeting space where members can socialize and plan projects. Recognizing the difficulty disabled individuals face in an economy with greater than 50% unemployment, Lotosice offers job training and income generation opportunities in addition to a supportive space for members. For those unable to transport themselves to the center, Lotosice provides door-to-door service in an aging station wagon.
Income generating activities include production of woodcrafts, dresses and wedding accessories, greeting cards using special computer software, and accounting services for local businesses. These projects not only offer income-generating opportunities to individual members, but they also give Lotosice the potential of supporting itself well into the future.
In addition to job opportunities, the center offers courses for youth in subjects including computer skills, bookkeeping, accounting, and English language training. The courses are also open for a fee to non-disabled Tuzla residents, contributing to Lotosice’s ability to sustain itself financially.
‘Our main purpose is to welcome as many disabled people as possible to the center,’ said Eldin Omerovic, the coordinator of Lotosice’s computer room, which currently contains computers, printers, and other equipment, some provided by AFSC in a previous donation. Mr. Omerovic is also planning to develop a database of all disabled people in the Tuzla canton (one of ten cantons in the country), which Lotosice members will use as a tool in advocating for equal opportunities and treatment for these often-invisible and shunned members of the local population.
The potential reach of Lotosice’s advocacy was made clear at the grand opening, which was attended by local politicians, including the president of the canton, as well as representatives of the media. In a speech delivered to the attending guests and members and later broadcast on local television news, the canton president promised to aid Lotosice in whatever way he could, including assistance with marketing the group’s various products and services.
Dozens of disabled Lotosice members crowded into the space for the event, some in wheelchairs, some on crutches, some communicating with sign language. “This is our place,” ’said one. ”We can feel at home here.”
AFSC’s Europe Program will continue working with Lotosice, particularly assisting in the group’s efforts to market their products and become financially stable. Lotosice members understand that they cannot depend on international donor support for local projects, and must develop independent viability in order to continue their work on behalf of the disabled community of Tuzla. AFSC will provide a small monthly stipend to the group, during which AFSC staff will work with Lotosice’s leaders to develop marketing and fundraising capacity.
‘We will find a way to survive,’ said Ms. Bratanovic in her remarks at the grand opening, eliciting murmurs of agreement from the group. Given the conviction, talent, and dedication of Lotosice’s members, there was no reason to doubt her words.
Contact:
American Friends Service Committee
1501 Cherry Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102
Web: www.afsc.org
Lotosice
Peje Markovića
1475000 Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Email: lotosice@bih.net.ba
Telephone/Fax: +387-35-28-1309
