The COVID-19 epidemic has greatly affected the lives of people around the world especially people with disabilities who are dependent on help on a daily basis other persons. With project Sport unites our heart we intend to include our users from Saint Ana - children with developmental disabilities and person with disabilities with local community and at the same time break the bridge between disable and able, provide sport activities for all of them together.

Municipality Lobor in Krapina-Zagorje County, Northern Croatia

People with disabilities face significant challenges, including negative attitudes, stigma, discrimination and lack of accessibility in physical and virtual environments – all of which complicate their ability to fully participate in society. The COVID-19 crisis is deepening pre-existing inequalities and exposing the extent of their exclusion. In rural areas, people with disabilities tend to face more challenges than their counterparts in urban areas.
We need to do more to reach out to persons with disabilities. Successful inclusion starts with the recognition that they are active members of society and relies on specific targeting approaches and closer engagement with people with disabilities to make sure their voices are heard and that project activities are tailored to their needs.

The target group consists of children and adults with disabilities and people with disabilities from the entire Krapina-Zagorje County. In the project will be involved 86 children with developmental disabilities and person with disabilities who use our therapy services together with 60 able children from Lobor school and 30 young adults from Lobor municipality.

1. Spread the word about our project using the social media, internet platform, radio station
2. Identify 10 local stakeholders from local community
3. Open a call for 10 local volunteers
4. Organizing a network of trainer, volunteers, stakeholders
5. Volunteers, stakeholders, children with developmental disabilities and person with disabilities along with able children and adults from community will decide upon the sport activities they will do together.
6. Social inclusion between children with developmental disabilities and people with disabilities and children/person without disabilities through involvement in sport activities. The activities will take place in municipality Lobor, sports hall and public premises, in nature of Lobor municipality.
7. Meetings with volunteers, trainer: organizing sport activities
8. Organisation of a public event to present the project

We expect to build a basis for future development of our community in our municipality Lobor. At the end of the project we hope that we will affect our target groups, positive changes and positive attitude by connecting our two target groups through sport activities, new friendships, improvement of social skills for children with developmental disabilities and person with disabilities, positive reflection of this project to the families of main participants in the project.

The volunteers and local stakeholders will get actively involved in the improvement of the social participation of children with developmental disabilities and people with disabilities by involving them in sport activities that will improve their social skills and improve quality of life. Children with developmental disabilities and people with disabilities will give their voice to the local community and local stakeholders expressing their problems, needs and activities that they want to change in the future and that they will be included in future community project in municipality Lobor.

Association Saint Ana is non-profit organization with experience in working with and helping children with developmental disabilities and person with disabilities through therapies in our premises, municipality Lobor. The project team consists from employees of Saint Ana: 1. Mateja Posarić, President of Saint Ana, from municipality Lobor; 2. Patricia Jajtić, Head of EU project and other projects in Saint Ana; 3. Mila Korade, Head of EU project and other projects in Saint Ana, 4. Ivana Behin, coordinator in projects,great organizational skills in coordinating projects; Outside of Saint Ana - External trainer and Volunteers from Krapina-Zagorje County. Our goal is to connect children/person with disabilities with children/person without disabilities through mutual sport activities.

1. project team and management - 15.000 €
2. visibility and publicity - 2.000€
3. equipment for sports activities - 10.000 €
4. office expenses - 1.500 €
5. costs of trainings and sport events - 1.200 €
6. transport costs for children and person with disabilities - 3.000 €

We would be grateful for constructive comments for our idea. All comments are welcome.