Roma kids in an informal camp
  • Two million people live in Macedonia: of these, 54,000 belong to the Roma ethnic group and, in numerical terms, they represent one of the largest minorities. Often marginalized by Macedonian society, the members of this ethnic group find themselves living in precarious conditions and with no real opportunities for integration.

    Project objective: to improve the living conditions of the Roma community members in the city of Vinica through the urban regeneration of the municipality’s district 18.

  • 1,700 Roma people will enjoy better housing conditions

    90.8% of the homes in Vinica’s district 18 will be regularised

    373 houses will be connected to the sewer system

LOCAL CONTEXT

The Municipality of Vinica is located in North Macedonia. District 18 is inhabited mainly by people of Roma ethnicity — 1,230, according to the 2002 census, 1,700 according to more recent estimates (out of a population of almost twenty thousand people). The district covers an area of 27.46 hectares of which, however, only 9.2% was included in the current town master plan. This means that most houses are squatter homes that do not enjoy basic services: paved roads, electricity, waste collection, water system, toilets and sewers. This results in precarious living conditions for the residents.

THE OBJECTIVES

Realised in collaboration with Rrc (Roma Resource Center) and the municipality of Vinica, the CELIM project has two fundamental objectives. The first is the reclamation of the neighbourhood through: 1) the inclusion of the area in the town’s master plan and the legalisation of squatter houses; 2) the reconstruction and refurbishment of homes. The second is the promotion of Roma’s human rights by improving their living conditions, fostering better relations with the local community and supporting young people’s job search. Involving all 1,700 inhabitants, the intervention will be carried out according to environmentally-friendly criteria.

Mother and child in a Roma village in the Balkans

PROJECT OVERVIEW

  • Approval and development of a variation on the master plan
    a) Setting up a group of urban planning experts
    b) Drafting the project variant
  • Regularising housing in district 18
    a) Creating a group of legal experts
    b) Registering Roma properties in the land registry and distributing ownership certificates
  • Refurbishment of 22 houses and development of infrastructures
    a) Refurbishment work on 22 Roma-owned homes
    b) Recovery of infrastructures in the areas registered in the land registry
  • My name is Alessandro, I am 42 and since 2007 I have been dealing with CELIM's activities in the Balkans
  • Project titol
    Securing Decent Housing conditions for Roma community in Vinica Municipality – SDH

    Project manager
    Alessandro Salimei, celim@celim.it

  • Date
    November 2019/ December 2021

    Partner
    – Rrc (Roma Resource Center)
    – Vinica Municipality

Donors

Support the activities

  • € 20

    to contribute to the construction of toilets

  • € 50

    to support road tarmacking

  • € 100

    to help house maintenance work

  • € 250

    to support a young person's job placement

Donations are made via PayPal by clicking on this link you will be redirected to PayPal page through which to make the donation. Payment PayPal is safe !
For other forms of payment and donation visit DONATE TO CELIM >
For any further questions please visit QUESTIONS >