CONTACT: Amy Lynne O'Toole, (404) 681-4579, ext. 449; otoole@care.org
Alina Labrada (404) 681-2552, ext. 383; labrada@care.org

Atlanta (June 12, 2000) -- One year after NATO troops entered Kosovo with the international relief and development organization CARE following right on their heels, the war-battered province is showing signs of recovery. While survivors and returning refugees have braved tremendous challenges and continue to face daunting circumstances -- from getting across mine-strewn roads and getting their fields plowed to getting along with their neighbors, CARE has provided much-needed and welcome support in these efforts.

CARE is one of the largest humanitarian organizations on hand that is helping Kosovars rebuild their society. "CARE's efforts are not only addressing the need for economic recovery and reconstruction, but are trying to foster reconciliation and rebuilding of civil society in the province," explains Mike Godfrey, coordinator for CARE's programs for the Balkans.

Here's how:

• CARE is making Kosovo safer. CARE staff found and removed 528 anti-personnel mines, more than 200 anti-tank mines and nearly 200 unexploded ordnance from an area totaling more than 100 acres. More than 11,000 homes are now secure to live in thanks to CARE and there are now nearly 200 miles of roads that are deemed safe for travel.
• CARE is teaching people in Kosovo how to recognize and avoid landmines through a community mine awareness project involving nearly 200 villages province-wide. CARE staff successfully trained almost 5,000 people in mine awareness following the mass return and resettlement of refugees in Kosovo. The U.N. has adopted CARE's pocket-sized mine safety handbook as its standard field guide.
• CARE is rebuilding schools and community centers throughout the province. CARE chaired the standards committee and made a substantial contribution to the UNMIK Guidelines for Housing Reconstruction in Kosovo. The agency also distributed more than 11,000 shelter kits last fall and winter, helping some 80,000 people in Mitrovica, Ferizaj, Podujevo and Pristina.
• CARE is distributing maize and onion seed, fertilizer, vegetable kits, herbicide and other essentials to more than 20,000 households in Lipjan, Urosevac, Kacanik, Stimlje and Viti. CARE employs both Serb and Albanian staff on this project, promoting links across the ethnic divide.
• CARE works in 21 out of 29 municipalities in the province of Kosovo.

The Expert: Mike Godfrey coordinates CARE's work in the Balkans and served as mission director in Kosovo in the summer of 1999. Godfrey wrote a virtual field trip based on his time there. To visit the virtual field trip, click here. Godfrey, who has worked with CARE for 18 years, also is deputy director of CARE's Emergency Group.

The Materials: Photographs and current background video footage of CARE's programs in Kosovo are available. To view, click here.

BACKGOUND ON CARE:

CARE has been working in Kosovo since 1998, providing shelter, agricultural rehabilitation, land mine-awareness training and mine clearance. CARE suspended operations in March 1999. CARE managed eight refugee camps housing more than 100,000 refugees in Albania and Macedonia during the crisis. CARE re-entered Kosovo in June 1999. It now works in Urosevac-Ferizaj, Kacanik, Lipljan, Prizren, Gnjilane and Mitrovica, employing around 40 international staff and 450 local staff. For more information about CARE in Kosovo visit our Special Report.

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