On Thursday, January 17, Ambassador Tracey Ann Jacobson visited two USAID projects as part of a day-long visit to the municipality of Vushtrri. In the morning, the Ambassador and USAID Mission Director Maureen A. Shauket met with Mayor Bajram Mulaku and unveiled a plaque inaugurating a new public green space and sidewalk along an area previously used as an illegal dumpsite. With support from USAID’s Democratic Effective Municipalities Program (http://www.demi-ks.org/?cid=2,1), the municipality identified the removal of the illegal landfill as a community priority, based on feedback received from residents. The USAID program, in cooperation with the municipality of Vushtrri, also has provided signs in high traffic areas, expansion of the green space and creation of a running path along the SItnica River, improvement of the green areas in Smerkovnice and Bukosh primary schools, and the creation of a playground adjacent to the park.

The Ambassador and Mission Director also visited a Professional Development Center while in Vushtrri. In order to support the decentralization process in the education sector, USAID’s Basic Education Program (http://bep-ks.org) assists municipalities with establishing such centers to provide relevant training to educational staff and administrators. The facility in Vushtrri also includes a model 21st century classroom, equipped with construction, electronic, robotics, solar power, and microscope kits. The students use these tools to undertake projects involving practical engineering principles for the real world.