Project program for 2021

Dear friends, collaborators, supporters, philanthropists and partners of our association Project Happiness, we want to share with you our project program for 2021.

This year will be a big challenge for us, because we are working on new, but also already known, big projects, for which we have laid strong foundations in the past years. Some projects are new and some are already traditional.

The year 2020 was the most difficult for us, as an association, so far. Like everyone, we faced many problems due to the crisis with pandemic Covid19.

This mostly reflected on the financing and support we received from the companies. That support was largely lacking, and we worked and faced huge challenges, to procure humanitarian aid for all who needed it, to realize the projects in new conditions and protocols, but also to survive.

Your support this 2021 will be more than necessary to get on our feet and continue with the same intensity of work.

  • Children’s Drama Studio for Children at Social Risk “Neverland”

Children’s drama studio, which we opened in 2019, is working for the third season in a row, with great success, and is intended for all those children who have a desire and love for acting and theater and are from 6 to 14 years old. We have classes twice a week and we prepare our program and performances, which we play in front of all the children in North Macedonia. The drama studio is free for all children who will attend, and are in the category of “social risk”. Our Blagica Ristov, a graduate actress, who has extensive experience in working with children’s drama studios and children’s plays, leads the drama studio.

Thank you sincerely for supporting us, and for recognizing truly constructive projects.

This project is in cooperation and support of the Municipality of Centar.
Last year, the Neverland tour through North Macedonia was realized with the support of the Ministry of Culture and the local self-governments.

  • School of Music, Arts and Skills ”Guitars, Keys and Gigs”

“Guitars, keys and gigs” is the first school of this type in our country. The school is open in 2019, and is intended for children at social risk to be able to study arts, music, and everything that due to some circumstances is inaccessible in everyday life and is completely free for all of them. Guitar and piano are taught, and from this year we will have our choir, the fine arts and various art techniques, photography, handicrafts will be studied, by organizing workshops. Professional musicians, artists, photographers, etc. teach students. It is intended for children from 6 to 14 years old.

Any new support in this project, from a company, government agency, international fund or individual, is welcome, for the sustainability of this important project.

  • Sports and fun summer camp for children at social risk “Colorful Summer”

You are already familiar with this project, and this year we will realize it for the fifth time. “Colorful summer” is one of our favorite and most famous projects. Many new friendships were born at this camp, memories were create, knowledge is gained, and for many children this is the first summer vacation. This camp is free for all children. The project is funded by the City of Skopje, through a program for financing and support of social projects and child protection projects for 2020. It is also supported by the business sector (EVN, Senator, and Europharm).

  • “Happy school year” – project for procurement of school materials for children at social risk

`This project, we will also implement for the fifth year in row. Last year, almost all the time our focus was on this project. The children started with online teaching and did not have monitoring and learning devices.  We procured devices and managed to provide laptops, tablets and phones for about 300 children, as well as an annual internet subscription for 20 families. This project procures new complete school equipment for over 300 children per year. Each child gets exactly what that it is necessary, depending on the age and the grade. A number of companies, individuals, organizations supports this project.

  • First conference for children at social risk “Summit of children’s wishes”

Children are the main ones here; they tell us how to build a better world for them, children with fewer opportunities. What they think, that can change, what are their pains and their happiness. We need to hear them here, because they know and can do much more than we think. In 2018, we realized this project for the first time, and it was a great success. Last year we failed to find financial support for this project. This year we will do our best to find it, and make it even better.

This is the only project of its kind in Europe. If there are conditions for organization, this 2021 we have a desire to realize it again.

  • Motivational lectures and psychological workshops for children at social risk, to improve educational outcomes and to deal with peer bullying “You can”

This is another of our new projects, and it refers to motivating children who live in difficult conditions, or who are victims of peer bullying. The psychologists and motivational lecturers specialized in working with children will work with the registered children. We expect great success with this project.

The lectures and workshops will last one year, and will be held every 3 months. We expect to find financial support for this project.

  • An integrated project to assist and improve the daily quality of life of children at social risk, “Touch the Stars”, by creating free services that children will use

We started this project last year, and we have already created many free services for children through it. A large and complex project, which we believe will make a huge difference in the quality of life of children with fewer opportunities.

Foreign language courses, tickets for zoo, theater, food, ice rink, amusement park, Aqua Park, swimming pools, sports activities…

We have provided all this as a free service for our children, by signing memoranda of cooperation with companies, institutions and philanthropists. We are working on this project without financial support, but we hope to get it this year, given the great importance that this project has for children, and the huge number of children for whom these services are available.

The project is implemented through the signing of memoranda of cooperation with a number of institutions, public institutions and companies that offer free services for children at social risk, our members.

  • Annual concert of the school for music and arts”Guitars, Keys and Gigs”
  • A warm home for everyone / Project House –

Families from all over the country, who are in the category of social risk, who have children, and live in extremely difficult conditions, without basic living conditions, are building or renovating their dwellings completely.

This project also received a TV project called “Project House with Kristina”, which will be broadcast on Telma TV from September.

OSCE Macedonia and a number of companies and individuals support the project.

  • Premiere of a new play by DDS Neverland that we will play in front of many children across the country 

 

The program for this year is very big and complex, but we will do our best to realize everything we plan and dream.

The support of companies, local government, government agencies, international organizations, associations, and individuals will be more than necessary. 

 

With respect,

Kristina Arnaudova Petrovski
President of the association