The new year for the Charitable Organization "Medical Aid Committee in Zakarpattya" started actively with the plans included in our working calendar at the end of the last year. Along with the established forms of activity, this year the organization will also develop new areas of work, regarding social entrepreneurship. But first things first.

The other day, together with our Swiss partners, we held a meeting where we agreed on the topic of the lecture module, which students of the Uzhhorod National University will master in March. As part of the implementation of the trilateral agreement on cooperation, which was signed in September 2019 by the "Medical Aid Committee in Zakarpattya", Uzhhorod National University and the Parasolka Association (Switzerland), qualified trainers and lecturers from Switzerland – specialists in physiotherapy, occupational therapy, special education, etc. – were involved in the educational process. In April, an internship for students of the Faculty of Health and Physical Education of UzhNU will take place for the first time on the basis of the Vilshany Children Orphanage and the Social Abilitation and Rehabilitation Centre "Parasolka", which is also part of the provisions of the agreement. The purpose of including these institutions in the bases of practice is to create a sustainable, viable and effective system of training to ensure the provision of quality social and therapeutic services to people with disabilities.

The Committee, in partnership with the Vilshany Children Orphanage, has been working for more than a year on the implementation of the "Kosytsya" initiative, designed to create opportunities for socialization and self-actualization of young people with disabilities, support for their daytime employment. The initiative, among other things, provides for the launch of an information resource about the project and an online store where it will be possible to purchase products created by the residents of the orphanage. The profit from sales is reinvested in a social enterprise – a cafe-shop, where the inhabitants of the institution will work. We are pleased to announce that the development of the basic version of the site has already been completed, and the design and estimate documentation for the future store has been prepared. So that the residents of the community can buy fresh vegetables in the new facility, we are working on the construction of a greenhouse suitable for providing agricultural employment.

This is only a part of our plans for the year - the cells of the work calendar are being filled daily with new ideas, plans, intentions, and concrete measures. This has been happening for more than 20 years of CAMZ’s operation. We are happy that all this time our friends and partners are moving in the same direction – this inspires and motivates us not to stop at what we have achieved.

To be continued…