Project: “CAPACITY BUILDING OF THE LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS OF PORAKA”

The Republic Center for Support of Persons with Intellectual Disability – PORAKA started the implementation of one-year project “ Capacity Building of the Local Organization of PORAKA” in September 2003. The implementation of the project will be conducted in cooperation with Irish NGO “Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary”, and is financially supported by the Sector for Development and Cooperation of the Government of Republic of Ireland.

The main goal of the project is capacity building of the local organizations of PORAKA, as well as capacity building of the day centers of PORAKA.

In order to realize this goal, the project is focused of two different types of activities.

1. CAPACITY BUILDING OF LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS

For realization of the goal, training seminars will be organized for the volunteers who are engaged in the local organizations. At the training seminars two volunteers, representatives from each local organization will be included. Regional division for organizing the seminars is suggested in order to have smaller groups, so the effects and results from the held seminars will be bigger.

	VOLUNTEERS TRAINING SEMINARS	click to zoom any of the photos

Before the start of the training seminars for capacity building of the local organizations, activities for identification of the participants will be carried out. Each local organization will be represented by two participants young parents that have the desire to be included in the work of PORAKA on local level, but at the same time they should fulfill certain criteria, to be able to implement the gained skills and to transfer the training to other members and activists in the local organization.

The contents of the training will be divided in 4 parts. Total of 8 seminars will be held – 4 seminars for each regional group.

The first part of the training will contain the following subjects:
•  Strategic Planning
•  Advocacy
•  Fundraising
•  Lobbying

The second part of the training will contain the following subjects:
•  Media Strategy and Management
•  Effective Communication
•  Decision-making and Problem-solving
•  Team Work
•  Building a team

The content of the third part of the training will include the subjects:
•  Managing Conflict
•  Leadership
•  Time Management
•  Project Management
•  Assertive behaviour

The content of the fourth part of the training will include the following subjects:
Training of trainers
•  Planning a training
•  Developing analyses for the needs of training
•  Setting goals for training
•  Training techniques
•  Manners of training
•  Evaluation of training

	CAPACITY BUILDING SEMINARS	click to zoom any of the photos

The Irish partner organization, in cooperation with PORAKA will identify foreign experts that will hold the first three sessions of training. The experts that will be identified by PORAKA will hold the fourth training session.

Each participant, after finishing the training, has the responsibility to organize seminars within the local organization in order to train volunteers in its municipality.

2. CAPACITY BUILDING OF THE DAY CENTERS OF PORAKA

The second type of training refers to capacity building of the work in the day centers of PORAKA. This type of training will be conducted by PORAKA. In order to realize the goal, training will be conducted for the volunteers that are and will be engaged in the work of the day centers. Each volunteer will have separate two week of direct training. In the implementation of this part of the project, four day centers will be included: Skopje , Ohrid, Radovis, Kocani and one social club – Kumanovo. The day center in Skopje will be training center. The areas of training are:
•  Conduction a Scale for assessment of the potential and ability of persons with intellectual disability;
•  Preparation of individual working programmes according to the conducted Scale;
•  Organizing activities in a day center;
•  Conducting activities according to individual working programmes;
•  Coordination, cooperation and work with parents of users in a day center.

The training of the volunteers in the day centers will include organizing the work in a day center, i.e. organizing individual activities for each user of the service, group activities and organizing the working day in the center. When this level of training is finished, the volunteers will be actively included in the work of the day center in Skopje in order to be practically involved in the conduction of everyday activities.

	VOLUNTEERS TRAINING FOR WORK IN DAY CENTERS	click to zoom any of the photos

The volunteers will be also trained for planning and organizing visits of certain institutions because of socialization and social contacts of the persons with intellectual disability in the immediate and wider environment. These visits also raise the public awareness, pressuring the public for equalization of the status in the society.

Another activity that will be realized during the implementation of the project is preparation and publication of manuals as a result of the two types of training seminars. There will be 4 published manuals, two of each type of training.