Communities Tackle Tough Problems

In addition to working with the nonprofit sector, ISC worked at the grassroots level with 15 communities to help them develop and launch community action plans that involve all sectors and address real problems. We always partner with a local nonprofit who can help continue this work in the future—indeed, 90% have been approached by other communities for help with how they can mobilize their citizens too. Below are some examples of what these communities have accomplished with ISC's help.

• When a hepatitis outbreak affected 95% of children in Labunista, a local physician spurred the community to action with ISC's help. With no central sewage plant, human waste had been collected in outdoor pits, streaming downhill during rainstorms. The community decided to install a new sewage system, with residents agreeing to a tax to pay for it, and many volunteering to dig the required ditches.
• Throughout Macedonia, inadequate garbage collection became a major problem after independence when local governments were simply unable to keep pace with the demand for solid waste management and recycling. Biosphera studied the behavior of residents in Bitola and, followed by a media campaign, launched a recycling program by placing bins in strategic locations. Recycling quickly caught on as a revenue-generator (in Macedonia, recycling plants pay for waste paper and other materials). The success of the project transformed Biosphera from an informal group of idealists to a serious organization with a positive public image. As Biosphera's leader pointed out, "At first, the community did not take us seriously. Today, we are recognized not only in our town, but internationally."
• We were most inspired by work of very poor Roma communities, which face isolation and segregation, official indifference to their plight, and limited experience in tackling a multitude of problems. But they made great strides nonetheless. Bairska Svetlina, a Roma nonprofit, helped the Bair settlement in Bitola obtain textbooks for its children, promote better hygiene practices to avoid waterborne illnesses, launch a business promoting trade and employment, and renovate a building to serve as a community center. Seeing the community take action, the municipality finally paved the main road connecting the settlement to the rest of Bitola. "Citizens in our community had very low self-esteem," Bitola's director told us. "As a result of this project, this has begun to change. They are more confident and trusting. The attitudes of the rest of Bitola have changed too—people now see that Roma are active."