Personal assistance has become an increasingly frequently mentioned topic in public discourse, only through some activities implemented through the PRAGG project - Proactive Citizens.

Representatives of organizations from Doboj and Prnjavor have also "set out" on a journey to try to make a systemic change and gather around a common goal and idea, following Zenica, Bijeljina, and some other local communities, which have already achieved significant progress in their efforts through the opportunities provided to them by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the UN Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities.

In Doboj, the Association of Paraplegics, Paralytics and Other Physically Disabled People of the Doboj Region, the Association of Dystrophians of the Doboj Region, the Association of Amputees of Doboj, the Inter-Municipal Organization of the Blind and Visually Impaired People of Doboj, the Association of the Disabled at Work Doboj, the Volleyball Club of the Disabled "OKI" Doboj and the Association for Helping Children with Special Needs Doboj, through the Coordination Committee of Organizations of People with Disabilities, i.e. with the help and support of members from Doboj East, Doboj Sout,h and Teslić, are committed to ensuring stable and long-term financing from the City budget, in cooperation with the Doboj authorities, when it comes to personal assistance.

"We expect that during this year we will succeed in persuading the local authorities in Doboj, in the general interest of the organizations involved in these activities and others who need this type of assistance, to adopt a Decision on Personal Assistance for Persons with Disabilities in the City of Doboj and adopt a Rulebook on the Provision of Personal Assistance Services in the City of Doboj. We hope that by launching the Initiative and organizing forums aimed at solving the problems identified in the Local Action Plan of the City of Doboj, we will also succeed in allocating certain funds for the provision of personal assistance services through the budget rebalance for 2025 or in the budget for 2026," explains Jelena Mišić from the Association of Paraplegics of the Doboj Region.

The adoption of a Decision on the method of financing personal assistance in Prnjavor is hoped to be achieved through their efforts by activists and members of the Association of Parents of Children with Physical and Mental Disabilities "NEVEN", the NGO "Roma Girl - Romani ćej", the Association of Parents with Four or More Children "4+", the Youth Center Prnjavor and the City Organization of the Blind Prnjavor.

"Our goals are to establish a system of personal assistance for persons with disabilities in the area of ​​the City of Prnjavor while informing the public about the introduction of the right to personal assistance for persons with disabilities and ensuring the support of organizations of persons with disabilities and citizens of Prnjavor for the implementation of this right. Specifically, we expect that the City Assembly will adopt the Decision on Extended Social Protection Rights for 2026 with the added item "Personal Assistance", as well as the Regulation on the Provision of Personal Assistance Services and funds provided in the City Budget for the implementation of personal assistance services" - says Svjetlana Mirković from the NGO "Roma Girl - Romani ćej".

In this way, activists from 12 civil society organizations in Doboj and Prnjavor are united in a common goal to ensure, through the provision of personal assistance, as much as possible, independent living and inclusion in the community for those who need such help, which is their motivation for engaging in activities through two separate campaigns.