TİKA Supported People with Visual Impairment in Montenegro on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities

Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) built an additional building for the Center for the Blind in Podgorica, Tuzi, Danilovgrad, and Kolašin, which was established in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, in 1948 and provides various services for people with visual impairment. People with disabilities will engage in income-generating activities in the additional building.

The opening ceremony of the building was attended by Ivan Terzić, Director of Social Welfare at Podgorica Municipality; Chedo Damjanović, Chair of the Union of the Blind of Podgorica, Tuzi, Danilovgrad, and Kolašin; members of the union; and TİKA’s officials. Most of the members of the Union of the Blind of Podgorica, Tuzi, Danilovgrad, and Kolašin, which provides services in many fields from the employment to the education and social integration of people with visual impairment in the region, live alone in rural areas. A carpet washing and dry-cleaning unit was established in the additional building, which was put into service as part of the project. 290 members with visual impairment will benefit from the services provided.

In his speech at the delivery ceremony, Chedo Damjanović, Chair of the Union of the Blind of Podgorica, Tuzi, Danilovgrad, and Kolašin, stated that the pandemic worsened the already difficult living conditions of people with visual impairment. He stressed that the people of Turkey gave them a meaningful gift through TİKA on December 3, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, and that this gift meant a lot to them.

Ivan Terzić, Director of Social Welfare at Podgorica Municipality, noted that the support provided for the Center for the Blind met a great need, and thanked TİKA for implementing the project.

Abdurrahman S. TOPRAK, TİKA’s Coordinator in Podgorica, stated that TİKA was implementing projects for the vulnerable segments of the society in all regions where it operated, and would continue to carry out sustainable and demand-oriented projects in this field in Montenegro. 

TİKA has so far implemented many projects to provide better education and employment opportunities to people with disabilities in Montenegro, improve their standards of living, and enable them to leave their homes and integrate into the society easily, such as building accessibility ramps in 250 locations in Nikšić; repairing and equipping the Sirena Center for People with Disabilities in Ulcinj; equipping the Center for People with Disabilities in Berane; carrying out landscaping activities at LIPA Center for People with Disabilities in Plav; building and equipping an autism room in the Bambi Kindergarten in Nikšić; building a sensory room in the autism department of the Komanski Most Institution; installing an elevator at the Constitutional Court of Montenegro; installing an additional panoramic elevator system and building an accessible elevator at the Supreme Court of Montenegro; and equipping the library of the Center for Children and Young People with Disabilities in Podgorica.