Since our arrival in the former Yugoslavia in 1995, besides helping in the post-war recovery, one of the areas that we identified as being very needy and one that we wanted to focus our attention on was that of helping the handicapped and those with special needs.
As is common in all areas with a large Roma population, in Serbia and Kosovo there is a glaring lack of training amongst Roma children in basic courtesy, manners, and what could be summarized as “character”. Poor or no school attendance has long been recognized as a huge problem amongst Roma children, but what about “character-building”.
The EXIT rock music festival in Novi Sad, Serbia, was originally designed in 2000 to be a way of escape or “exit” for Serbian youth from the then existing system of old Yugoslavia under Slobodan Milosevic. We had our first experience counseling youth at the EXIT festival after moving from Kosovo to Novi Sad in 2004. From its humble beginnings, EXIT fest has gained much popularity across Europe and has since become one of the most popular summer festival destinations for tens of thousands of European youth. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exit_(festival)
From the director of a kindergarten in the Serbian part of eastern Bosnia:
I have looked over your beautiful “Bonton za Decu” character-building books along with the teachers, and we all agree that they are very well done indeed. The illustrations are beautiful, and the stories, which are tailored perfectly for children represent an excellent didactic tool for the socio – emotional aspects of child development. We thank you for your concern to support early-learning and development of the pre-school children here in our city.
What better reward could anyone want than to see the smiling face on a thankful child? This was the overwhelming emotion we felt throughout the implementation of our latest Healing Hearts Balkans book distribution project.
Living in a war-torn part of the world, surrounded by poverty, suffering, and people with little or no hope, one can sometimes be hit with the thought “Am I doing enough?” The oft-used adage “Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for life” encouraged us to press in to the production and free distribution of our Bonton za Decu (“Building Children’s Character”) character-building curriculum for children ages KG – 2nd Grade
Since 1999 the Serbian population in Kosovo has felt very neglected by the international community and also the Serbian government in Belgrade. It is for that reason they are extremely thankful for any sort of aid that is brought to them. During our previous project where we distributed our Prvi Korak (“First Step”) curriculum, it was incredible to see the thankfulness of the teachers and directors of the schools and kindergartens that we visited.
Over the long Easter weekend in April, 2012 we were able to host our 2nd Annual Easter Retreat/Seminar for Christian Volunteers. All together we had 40 attendees who had traveled from 15 different countries (including Mexico, Canada, and Fiji) come together to enjoy five days in the pristine Fruška Gora hills on the south bank of the Danube River above Novi Sad, Serbia.
Most people could never imagine the psychological toll that would be taken on a small child whose country had just passed through a decade of continual war. Loved ones lost, schools destroyed or in a state of extreme disrepair, and parents, siblings, and peers traumatized. With local government and school districts doing their best to recover, a sense of “normalcy” is often the best healing balm for the impressionable young mind. Just getting back into a set routine such as going to school each day can do wonders in driving those distressing memories deeper into the forgotten past.
As proven by Patch Adams in his ground-breaking work with children in cancer wards, music and laughter have a very positive therapeutic and healing effect. Our Healing Hearts Balkans volunteers are professionals in this area, using music therapy regularly in our work with children-at-risk.
Healing Hearts Balkans hosts and stages a variety of workshops and training seminars for youth and adults alike. The expertise gained from over 17 years in the volatile region of the former Yugoslavia has equipped us to transfer that knowledge and ability to others, so that they too can help to change their part of the world.
