Start of work for „Hilfswerk House of Support“ mobile care of older and disabled persons presented
Hilfswerk International, a non-profit organisation that has actively worked in Bosnia and Herzegovina for 25 years, has established the Institution for social protection „Hilfswerk House of Support“ as the first of its kind in this part of Europe, within the project „Hilfswerk House of Support – Elderly Homecare Sustainable Service Provision in Bosnia & Herzegovina”. The goal of the project is to ensure and provide the highest quality of mobile care for older and disabled persons by trained caregivers, based on a model that is used in Austria, as well as in other countries in Western Europe.
"This year, in which Hilfswerk International celebrates 25 years of successful work in BiH, has been marked by the beginning of provision of mobile care based on the Austrian model that has been employed and developed by Hilfswerk Austria for the last 75 years. With financial support from the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and Hilfswerk International Vienna, this project was realised in BiH, for the first time outside of Austrian borders. We know that today we are starting with an important activity together with Municipality Centar, which will improve the lives of older persons and create new jobs. We are proud of this fact“, says Suzana Jašarević, the Hilfswerk International Regional Director Balkans.
Daily we are witnessing the consequences of a hasty lifestyle, while time management is becoming an increasing problem in the whole process. Often we tend to take on an increasing number of commitments in our daily lives, where, against our will, on an already full list of priorities, caring for one's parents, family members, or disabled fellow citizens is most often down at the bottom. Hilfswerk House of Support is a specialised institution for the organisation and provision of comprehensive, professional, and integrated home care and support for persons in need of care, their families, and other members of society. Based on the principle „all from one hand“, the institution provides support and care for persons who are not able to fulfill their daily needs and activities independently, with impaired vital and organic functions and with the aggravating occurrence of frequent accompanying symptoms of acute or chronic conditions, consequences of the course of old age, disability, or even specific spectra of disease.
Considering the fact that a large number of people depend on daily care and support from other members of their family or society, „Hilfswerk House of Support“ enables them to remain in their own safe and familiar environment, with the goal of preventing institutionalisation. The organization of the work of the institution and the provision of mobile care was approached in a studious and analytical way, with active mentoring and transfer of knowledge, experiences and examples of good practice of prominent experts from Austria. After the process of recruitement and selection of the first group of students was finalised, Hilfswerk International established and financed the education based on the Austrian model of the first 11 caregivers, who are unemployed citizens of BiH registered at the employment bureau, and who have had the opportunity to go through theoretical and practical education in the past 6 months, which enabled them to become caregivers. The plan is to select the first home care team from these 11 caregivers, who will begin providing home care services under the mentorship of an experienced and professional caregiver (with medical/nursing education)
Clients of „Hilfswerk House of Support“ are persons in need who can realise home care based on a personal request, request from a guardian, as well as at the suggestion of competent institutions. „Hilfswerk House of Support“ approaches each client in an individualistic manner, keeping in mind that each person has specific needs that are specified during the first visit, together with an analysis of the whole situation of the client's condition of general functioning and environment, based on which the package of services is personalised for each client individually. Caregivers from „Hilfswerk House of Support“ are trained to provide diverse services in the areas of basic medical assistance, personal hygiene, living space hygiene, social assistance and support, as well as to ease daily chores through activities such as grocery shopping, paying bills, going to the doctor, and procuring medication.
Municipality Centar – Sarajevo has recognised the value of this idea and need for its citizens, and it has supported this project by awarding office space for the „Hilfswerk House of Support“ headquarters, as well as by expressing the willingnes to subsidise the cost of daily care for several of the most vulnerable citizens of this municipality. It is important to emphasise that the programme of „Hilfswerk House of Support“ is meant for all citizens of the Sarajevo Canton, with plans to expand services to the whole BiH in the near future.
Today, after a specialised 6-month education programme, 11 caregivers received certificates for its finalisation. The public also had an opportunity to see the official uniforms of „Hilfswerk House of Support“, which will be worn by the caregivers in their daily work as a clearly identifiable symbol for recognition.
„I wish to use this opportunity to congratulate the caregivers on a successfully completed education programme, and I wish them fortune in their future work. Municipality Centar Sarajevo is a local community that dedicates a lot of attention to socially vulnerable persons, as well as everyone who needs care and assistance. This project is not the first one that has been realised with the goal of helping this population“, emphasises Mayor of Municipality Centar, Srđan Mandić.
In „Hilfswerk House of Support“, there is a clear plan of employing caregivers, with a planned continuation of educating new caregivers, with the goal of increasing the capacity to provide services and respond to the existing needs of society.
"It is our pleasure to have the opportunity to offer our citizens the same service that is provided to citizens of Austria. We hope that our activities will contribute to the action of competent institutions, as well as encourage socially responsible companies to cooperate towards a common goal – ensuring that older persons have a dignified ageing process in their own home“, says Lejla Brulić, Director of „Hilfswerk House of Support“.
