Citizens for Change #11

OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2021

A strange year is behind us, and the wishes for the New Year probably sound like a déjà vu, especially when it comes to the one that concerns the end of pandemic and return to “normal”. What we have learned this year is that we should stop waiting for the pandemic to pass to continue with our plans, work, life. In the beginning a bit uncertain, then more decisive, things moved and after a while they intensified. Of course, we continued to complain that it is not like before, but we seemed to mind less when we treated the paths again and again, adding the ingredients of the new time. Welcome to the new issue of Citizens for Change.

One of those who did not only not wait for the pandemic to pass, but the latter seemed to have given them a new boost to work and achieve were the colleagues from the Rural Coalition; among other things, they gave the women from rural environments and all of us consumers of their produce “Our Stall”. With it, they faced the pandemic, adjusted and moved on. They have created a virtual market of agricultural produce to help the women from the rural environments catch up with the new digital time. Somebody would say that because of the pandemic they even jumped several steps in their development and it is probably true; if it had not been for the pressure caused by this health crisis, we would have probably waited for some time to purchase agricultural produce online.

Another success of the CSOs is the news that came at the very end of the year. The members of the Council of the City of Skopje adopted an amendment for MKD 2 million in the 2022 budget for free of charge menstrual products for the high school students in the schools within the city. The last pressure of the civil activists on this topic came in mid-November 2021, after the publishing of the study “Menstrual Justice: Assessment of the State of Affairs with Menstrual Poverty and Recommendations for Policy Improvement”, prepared by Tiiiiit! Inc. and Reactor – Research in Action. During the discussion on the study, the representative of the Ministry of Health expressed preparedness to include the recommendations as part of the system.

The City of Skopje reacted first and acted upon some of the recommendations. Menstrual hygiene is a discussion topic last years after CSOs reported on stunning data related to the problems that the girls face in their schools during their menstrual cycles. The society seemed not have been aware about he challenges they were facing. The recommendations of the study, the calculations on how they would affect the budget objectivized the situation and now it is in the hands of the decision makers. We hope that they would follow the example of the City of Skopje.

These Civica Mobilitas grantees are only part of the organizations that worked intensively and adjusted to the demands of the new time on the go. They defied the challenges and constantly had in mind their final beneficiaries and the changes that they would secure for them. The pandemic led us into a difficult situation, but at the same time it brought out all creative potentials from us and made us be stronger, more patient and more persistent in the changes that we wish for us, for our beneficiaries and for the whole society.

I wish you many successful stories in the new 356 days before us.

Have a pleasant reading!