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Some of the prisoners have been living behind the bars of the women’s prison in Lipjan for more than a decade. Each of them has different reasons for staying here.

While serving their sentences, prisoners have the opportunity to receive training in various trades at the same time.

Out of about 40 convicts in the Women’s Correctional Center in Lipjan, 8 of them are currently undergoing training in making filigree jewellery.

B.H is one of the convicts who has been engaged in this training, and who is very much enjoying the handicraft he is learning inside the prison. But according to her, such activities are lacking in prisons.

She hopes that the craft she is learning here will serve her when she goes abroad, and turn it into a profession for her future.

The filigree coach, Bashkim Tejeci, shows that the interest in learning this craft has been beyond his expectations. He and two other coaches travel from Prizren to the women’s prison twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays.

He adds that some women in the beginning were not so enthusiastic about this opportunity, but now they are all trying to do the job properly and create their own filigree work.

In addition to the craft of filigree, trainings are being held for informatics and technology, and due to the small space, each group has 5 convicts.

Convicts who complete the training will be provided with a certificate from the Vocational Training Center.

Director of the Women’s Correctional Center in Lipjan, Fatlinda Mustafa, says that the center constantly have trainings of various trades.

She points out that convicts constantly have requests for training to be increased and to have their own variety, but as a result of the pandemic, not all of them have been feasible.

Through these trainings, the women held in this center will be enabled to develop their activities through vocational training and in the cultivation of the filigree craft. It will also increase their chances of getting a job after their release.

The training will be held for 1 year and it is supported by the organization “Help Kosovo”, which has provided the equipment to implement the I.T. training.