1) The Izvor organization has established a workshop for the mentally disabled that specializes in packaging sugar and bath salts for SPA treatment. Located in Mostar, Izvor provides livelihood to 6 employees thanks to a June 2005 loan from The J-Fund of approximately $15,000 and is due to expand even further thanks to a new loan of @ $7,000.
2) Pismolik is a small workshop for designing and manufacturing signs and stamps. Located in Sarajevo, Pismolik currently employs 10 deaf and mute persons. Thanks to a loan from The J-Fund of @$20,000 in December 2005 for a new engraving machine, Pismolik has been able to recruit four new disabled employees.
3) The Muscular Dystrophy Residential Institution in Banja Luka, Republika Srpska in Bosnia- Herzegovina employes handicapped people suffering from muscular dystrophy. An August 2005 loan of $20,000 from The J-Fund to its increasing modernized printing plant now provides gainful employment to 10 or more persons with special needs.
4) In March 2006 the Partner organization in Banja Luka used a $25,000 loan from The J-Fund to purchase an engraving machine to employ three more persons with special needs.
5) Des, situated in downtown Sarajevo employs deaf and mute individuals in a printing workshop and a textile manufacturing business. The organization employs over 40 handicapped employees or people with special needs. In March 2006 Des received a loan from The J-Fund of $20,000 for the purchase of new, more modern equipment.
6) Color Service is a small business located Mostar in Bosnia & Herzegovina. The business handles car repairs and has a workshop for cutting tombstones. With the help of a J-Fund loan of $20,000 in April 2006, Color Service has been able to employ an additional three deaf employees.
.7) The 'Breza" project located close to the city of Osijek in Croatia has all the characteristics of social entrepreneurship. A residential community for young women from dysfunctional homes, Breza with the help of a $21,000 loan, the very first issued in Croatia by NOA from The J-Fund in November 2006, has automated its candle-making workshop and ventured into farming. Overall the project is expected to provide a livelihood to 6 persons with special needs
8) "Utjeha" near Mostar focuses on recycling plastics, a field in which deaf individuals have a comparative advantage. Thanks to a start-up loan of a loan from The J-Fund of approximately $20,000 in November 2006, Utjeha will be able to employ three handicapped employees.
