A New Tradition

February 8, 2005

Country: Serbia

Topics: Economic Development, Peaceful Change

Primary school kids turn out with signs to support their school's project. Photo: Mercy Corps Serbia

Krusevac used to be a large, prosperous town, where all who wanted a job had one, and anyone who started a business had a good chance of being successful. But with Serbia's economic downturn, this all changed and so did the hopes of Krusevac citizens and their interest in community activities. Citizen organizations died out, youth clubs ceased to exist, and even parent-teacher associations did not organize activities.

All of this changed after Mercy Corps, through the USAID-funded Community Revitalization through Democratic Action (CRDA) program, held a community fair in Krusevac.

"It seems like the interest of citizens in the town just reappeared out of nowhere," said one community member.

"I can't believe there are so many people presenting projects," said another.

CRDA had asked interested citizen groups to apply through the community fair for projects benefiting their community. Any project was eligible that showed community support, had community matching funds and did not require more than $3,000 from CRDA funding.

Nearly 70 groups applied for these funds and presented their projects during the fair. There was singing, dancing, costumes, street drawings, games and significant media coverage during the event.

People from all over the town came and stood in line patiently to vote for their favorite projects. The new energy in the town could be felt everywhere.

The truth is that a little motivation and a little hope go a long way. The citizens of Krusevac saw that they would be able to implement small projects to improve their daily lives if they participated in the fair and convinced people to vote for them. Some 9,467 people attended the fair and voted for their favorite projects. Many of these projects will be implemented in the coming months.

"We didn't know how easy if was to get people involved in the life of the town," said a municipal official. "This event should be yearly, and we'll do everything we can to support it from now on. Even if CRDA isn't able to fund it, this event should become a tradition for Krusevac town."