Government of the Republic of Serbia
The Red Cross of Serbia has been implementing a support programme for children from vulnerable groups entitled Joint Programme for the Inclusion of Roma Children and Children from Vulnerable Groups in Education, from 2002 to mid-2018, with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. This programme was implemented in 53 communities in Serbia, covering over 30,000 beneficiaries, children from vulnerable groups and their parents.
During project implementation the Red Cross contributed to more than 25,000 children from vulnerable groups becoming included in the educational system and completing primary school. The programme also stimulated the development of a model at the local community level supporting the inclusion of children from vulnerable groups in the life of the community, as well as models contributing to the local community recognizing its own capacities and mobilizing them with the aim of providing support for the most vulnerable groups.
As part of the final phase of the implementation of the Joint Programme for Inclusion the Red Cross implemented a mapping process with the aim of assessing the inclusion of children and youth in remote rural environments in education. The mapping was implemented in 12 towns and municipalities in Serbia, covering 86 remote rural environments with a total of 1,006 families and 1,754 children and youth.
The results obtained by the mapping indicate that more than half the mapped children of preschool age are not covered by preschool education. The inclusion of children in primary school is significantly better, 11.21% aged 7-14 years are outside the educational system, with 37.93% of them dropping out of education.
After analysing the mapping results in their communities, Red Cross organizations have invested further efforts to enrol children from remote rural environments into the educational institution during the next enrolment, and as part of the established models of support for children from vulnerable groups presented in the publication Joint Programme for the Inclusion of Roma Children and Children from Vulnerable Groups – Good Practice Examples.
The final report on the results of the mapping and the collection of good practice examples can be downloaded from the website of the Red Cross of Serbia.
Source: Red Cross of Serbia
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