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is a non-governmental organization dedicated for the
promotion of human rights of people with mental disabilities
and full participation of children and adults with mental
disabilities in Kosovo society.
K-MDRI staff and founders have extensive experience in the field of human rights of people with mental disabilities, as well as in promotion of inclusion of people with mental disabilities in the society. K-MDRI staff is also the staff of Mental Disability Rights International (MDRI), the world’s leading international human rights group dedicated to the protection of people with mental disabilities. MDRI promotes the human rights and full participation in society of children and adults with mental disabilities worldwide. While working in MDRI’s office in Kosovo, K-MDRI staff has been responsible for the implementation of the project Initiative for Inclusion: Kosovo.
MDRI Kosovo staff concluded that despite achieving the goals of MDRI’s Initiative for Inclusion: Kosovo, the violation of human rights of people with mental disabilities living both in institutions and in community continues, and people with mental disabilities are far from fully participating in Kosovo society. Therefore, MDRI Kosovo staff decided that there is a need for sustainable local activity in this particular field of human rights and thus registered as an independent organization in July 2007. This decision was strongly embraced by MDRI, who still supports the work of K-MDRI, and with whom K-MDRI continues to work in close relationship in promoting of human rights and community-based services for people with mental disabilities in Kosovo.
K-MDRI is the only non-governmental organization in Kosovo that has worked on the field of human rights of people with mental disabilities, and its staff members have a wide knowledge about the current situation of people with mental disabilities in Kosovo society and its background, which provides them with a ground for identifying problems and potential solutions.
K-MDRI staff has a long experience in building of capacity of community allies to include people with mental disabilities into their existing programs and to leverage resources of those programs; in creation of peer support/advocacy programs made up of people with mental disabilities and family members, which promote community integration and actively involve stakeholders in reform in public policy activities; in promotion of human rights oversight, enforcement, and publication; as well as in promotion of inclusive and appropriate government policies to bring about effective rights enforcement and community integration of people with mental disabilities.
During the five year period K-MDRI staff, as a part of MDRI Initiative for Inclusion: Kosovo, has continuously both conducted and organized trainings for people with mental disabilities and their families, communities of people with other disabilities, university students, representatives of civil society organizations, and government officials. In addition, they have provided continuous technical assistance to the groups of people with mental disabilities, non-governmental organizations that wanted to expand their programs and/or services and include people with mental disabilities, and to the Government of Kosovo.
Kosovo Mental Disability Rights Initiative (K-MDRI) works towards:
- To assist in the cooperation between the Government - legislators
of policies with non-government organization who represent people
with mental disabilities, in creating adequate programs which
serve this polulation.
- To offer technical assistance to peer support groups and other
organizations by and for people with mental disabilities.
- To create cooperation and networking with Government of Kosovo
and Ministy of Education - University of Prishtina, Department of
Psychology and Special Education, and different local and
international non-government organizations .
- To train professionals and mental health workers in the field of
Human Rights of People with Mental Disabilities, and offering
adequate services for people with mental disabilities.
- To train organizations of people with mental disabilities
in the field of Human Rights.
- To educate and support parents/family memebers in dereasing
stigma regarding disability and to inform the community in
general regarding mental disability.
- To empower residents of Mental Health Institutions, to teach them
on how to choose and make decisions for their lives.
- To provide technical assistance in transfering the services based in the
institutions in the services based in the communty.
- To monitor and document the abuse of human rights of people with
mental disabilities, in mental health institutions, integration houses,
mental health centers and in the community.
- To promote the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities.
The founders of K-MDRI organization are the current staff
of Mental Disability Rights International (MDRI):
Zamira Hyseni Duraku | Mjellma Luna | Dea Pallaska O’Shaughnessy
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