Kosovo
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Photo: David Snyder for Mercy Corps
Our strategy
Alleviate poverty by helping refugees return and reintegrate into society, teaching families how to start and expand small businesses, and promoting leadership, conflict resolution and job skills training among youth.
The context
Thirteen years after the war and four years after its declaration of independence, Kosovo continues its struggle to emerge as a peaceful and prosperous independent state. Tensions between the majority Albanian and non-majority Serbian populations in Northern Kosovo demand the attention and resources of international organizations. Meanwhile, a continuing economic crisis contributes to 48 percent unemployment — one of the highest rates in the region.
Our work
- Economic opportunity: Providing training, loans and other financial services to small business owners
- Emergency response: Helping families still displaced from the Kosovo war resettle away from lead-contaminated camps
- Children & Youth: Engaging youth in civic projects, internships and activities that promote inter-ethnic cooperation
All stories about Kosovo
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Kosovo: A power to change lives January 6, 2003
Mercy Corps' Healthy Community Initiatives in Kosovo is working to improve the health of Kosovars through strengthening health knowledge and advocacy skills at village level and strengthening the ability of the Municipalities - four in northern and central Kosovo - to provide good quality care th
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Kosovo: UN Secretary-General visits Mercy Corps project in Kosovo November 20, 2002
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan received a first hand look at a Mercy Corps project today on the final day of a two-day trip to Kosovo.
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Kosovo: Raisa's story November 6, 2002
Raisa was not like the other children in the village. As other children played and ran around, Raisa was always sitting on the steps of her house alone or by the time she caught up to the others, they had run off somewhere else. Even eating was exhausting.
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Kosovo: A mother and child of mercy August 28, 2002
Tina is Albanian. She met her Albanian Kosovar husband Ishmet during her nursing training in Albania and they moved back to his family home in Istog in northern Kosovo. It was a painful time for Tina.
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Kosovo: Finding common ground in Kosovo June 19, 2002
Caring for bees is more than just a job or a hobby to Metush Maxuti. It is his passion. Maxuti, a beekeeper and head of The Beekeepers Association in Cernica, Kosovo, believes that people living in Kosovo can learn an important lesson from the insects he loves.
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Kosovo: Thousands Flee Fighting in Macedonia June 15, 2001
As thousands of families flee fighting in Macedonia, Mercy Corps and its local partners are providing critical aid to refugees entering neighboring Kosovo.
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Kosovo: Mercy Corps' Small Enterprise Development Program Celebrates Milestone April 16, 2001
In March 2001, the Agency for Finance in Kosovo (AFK) disbursed its 100th loan to Mr. Xhevdet Dranqolli, a 39 year-old tailor from Peja, Kosovo. The 100th loan signifies AFK's successful transition to a local finance institution.