Work with children and youth with special needs:

• Local RC branch Bijelo Polje works on support programme for the children with disabilities, in cooperation with the education institution, i.e. local Primary school which has a class for working with handicapped children. Volunteers and RC associates are implementing this activity three times per week, for 2 hours, as facultative activity for the children who regularly attend school. There are 25 participants with the average attendance rate of 80%.
• Local RC branch Cetinje cooperates with NGO “Razvitak”, which has all the necessary preconditions for implementing this kind of activity. Programme consists of day care for children with special needs, 5 times per week, with the surveillance of experts. There are 15 children who regularly participate into this activity, with the average attendance rate of 75%.
• Local RC branch also works with children with special needs within Primary school, where RC volunteers actively work with children in the facultative classes. There are 25 children who arte attending classes three times per week, for 2 hours.

• Local RC branch Kotor actively cooperates with the Institute for deaf-mute children in Kotor, with three experts who work with around 100 children on different creative activities, such as art classes, dance, ecologic workshop. The activity is implemented in the Institute three times a week, for two hours.

• Local RC branch Bar implements psychosocial support programme in cooperation with NGO “Adria” from Bar, and in their premises RC volunteers are coming three times per week to realize the activities. The work with parents is especially important in this programme. There are around 20 children who attend the classes three times per week, for two hours of active work according to the defined plan and programme.
• Local RC branch Pljevlja, in cooperation with NGO “Zračak nade”, implements programme support for the children with special needs, in half a day care. The programme is being implemented through improving psycho-motoric abilities, parent education and improving cooperation between the professionals and parents of the children with special needs. Programme gathers 20 children and their parents, and the classes are organized three times per week, for three hours.

During the 2008, we were actively trying to find funds for the programme continuation. As the result, we submitted application for the funding from Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), after which we extended redesigned programme for three more years, including the period 2009-2011.