The non-profit organization Jahoda has been dedicated to social services for children and adolescents for over 25 years. We run a low threshold club, kindergarten or children’s group. How have the needs of Czech children changed over the course of a quarter-century of work, and how are European Union funds helping Jahoda’s work? said about this not only on the Aktuálně.cz podcast.
Jahoda accompanies children, teens and their families in their activities from infancy to adulthood. “I always say that Jahoda has three pillars. The basic one is social services for children and young people, with two low-threshold clubs and one field programme. and four children’s groups, and the third stem is: Community Family Center in Prague 2,” Juráňová explains on the podcast.
Recently, within the framework of its programs, it mainly addresses the fact that Czech children do not know how to spend their free time actively, spend most of their day on social networks and are exposed to cyberbullying. “Children often subconsciously watch boring videos. They think they are anonymous when they are online, which is of course not true,” Juráňová points out. To do. “We are trying a proactive approach, holding workshops and creating information boards at clubs,” he added.
Another current problem, according to Žurañova’s experience, is that the Czech Republic has lowered the age limit for committing petty crimes and experimenting with alcohol and light drugs. “The post-corona era also brings psychological problems to children. It’s the flow of the story,” the director explains her experience.
Greater project freedom
Both state grant programs and support from private donors, as well as projects subsidized by European Union funds, make an essential contribution to Jahoda’s functioning. Some of these are now running in-house. They focus on, for example, social inclusion of children, running children’s groups, or supporting inclusion in kindergartens.
Juráňová believes that tight financial limits on individual activities are a weakness of EU-funded projects. “For example, the board decides what salary I can give an animator and fixes it for three years. will happen and all expenses will increase.Where do I get the money?” the director points out.
She therefore welcomes more freedom when she can decide for herself how the funds are distributed within a given project. Even she didn’t care. “If they told me: 8 million here, only basic distribution. Then, Jahoda, drive it. I come for inspection twice every three years. So I would say : Just come on, officer.” .
listen on platform sound cloud In the podcast, the nonprofit director also mentions how she dealt with the complexities of managing European projects, or other weaknesses she sees.
