The EHO project team "Local Mechanisms for Integration" visited their local associates in Babušnica, Lebane and Kruševac: This project team implemented local initiatives related with solving of problems faced by vulnerable groups in these local communities in the previous period.

Families supported by this project were also visited.

In Babušnica, the EHO project team visited four families involved in the local initiative "Health for All" implemented by the Association "Zora". As part of this initiative, families were visited by a medical team made up of a doctor and a medical technician who measured blood pressure and blood sugar levels, gave advice on diet, the importance of preventive checkups, and family planning, contraception and unwanted pregnancies.

During this initiative, 40 Roma and 20 non-Roma families were included. 90 Roma children and the same number of adults were examined. Among the elderly population, the biggest problem was obesity, which was accompanied by high blood pressure and increased blood sugar levels.

In Lebane, a local initiative "Civil Rights and Obligations" was implemented, which dealt with informing members of the Roma community about their rights and obligations and specific benefits that the family can achieve by regular payment of utilities, in order to avoid disconnection from the distribution network.

The main goals of this initiative was: Introduction into the system of regular payment of communal services through benefits that can be realized by socially vulnerable families and families with a larger number of household members and raising awareness of the Roma population in Lebane about the importance of respecting lawsuits and decisions, and of the possibility of timely objections to prevent seizure of their properties by eviction officers.

The Roma Association "Herc" Lebane conducted this initiative, participated by 98 beneficiaries, direct participants in lectures and educational workshops.

During the conversation with the initiative coordinator, we learned that the Municipality of Lebane intends to continue with the support to the project. This specific form of support would be in a possibility of installation of water meters in Roma households in order to control their own water consumption and prevention of irregular payments due to high costs.

In Kruševac, the initiative "Knowledge has power" was implemented, which aimed to strengthen the Roma community, their training through education and increase employment opportunities.

Motivational workshops and trainings for writing a work biography were held, upon which, six Roma women completed professional re-educational trainings organized by the Workers' University from Kragujevac in order to increase their competitiveness on the labor market. Participants chose courses to become trained in skills required in their local communities: a masseuse course, a manicure course, and a dressmaker course. After the successful completion of the course, most of the participants got a job and improved their economic situation.

In a conversation with the initiative coordinator from the Association "Romsko srce Kruševac", emphasized was the importance of investing in education and additional retraining through professional courses for improved employment of the Roma community members.

The project "Local mechanisms for the integration of marginalized groups" is a project aimed to strengthen local mechanisms for socio-economic integration of marginalized groups in the Republic of Serbia. The project is financially supported by the Hoffnung für Osteuropa and Diakonie Württemberg from Germany.