
The building that once buzzed with children's voices, today stands silent and closed.
The Lazarat village school, invested in in 2019, was reconstructed with the hope that it would serve the younger generations, but mass emigration and the departure of young people left it without students, turning it into an empty environment.
Later, this building was adapted and inaugurated as a collection center for medicinal plants, known as CAT (Cannabis Alternative), a project with a social dimension, supported by the Swiss and Austrian governments. The center was presented as an economic alternative for Lazarat and the surrounding areas, in a reality where unemployment and lack of investment continue to be open wounds.
However, despite the inauguration and the expectations created, the center has not functioned for a single day. The equipment, premises and investment remained unused, while the building continues to remain closed, just like the school before. The residents of Lazarat say they feel sorry when they see the building in this condition.
According to them, it is not just an abandoned building, but a symbol of dashed hopes and projects that remain on paper.
They emphasize that the village needs real employment and concrete support, not just ribbon cutting.
In an area that has been trying for years to distance itself from the past and build a new model of life through honest work and a return to medicinal plants, the closure of this center is another disappointment for the community.
As emigration continues and young people leave, Lazarat risks being left not only without a school and a job center, but also without hope for the future, if the projects are not accompanied by real functioning and long-term development policies.