Sharing the friendship with gratitude in Kosovo children’s camps
    Fatime Krasniqi, a teacher in the commune of Malisheva, was speechless when she read on the hand craft in the center of her nephew’s and niece’s room. A short message that she will never forget: “Gratitude.” To better express her joy, she tells: “The children came back the first day dancing and very happy. They told me with how much love and dedication they had done their art and craft project together with their group leader during the camp”.
    Together with her nephew and niece, Arberi and Artemisa, 1800 children from the community of Malisheva experienced this summer wonderful days in the company of the summer camps which are educative and entertaining, organized for the eight-th year from the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania. Five camps in the schools of Malisheva, upper Caralluke, lower Caralluke, Banja and Begaj provided the most beautiful geographic panorama of the activity.
     Every day the children saw a drama related with different aspects of gratitude, which was the theme of the camp. The first day they focused on the aspect of the expression of gratitude, the second day how to cultivate the spirit of gratitude and on the third how to be grateful even in difficult situation. The program included games, songs, group discussions, art and craft, cocktail. The children took part in the activity for four hours each day. The kindergarten children to the fourth grade were in the camp in the morning while in the afternoon was the children from fifth to the ninth grade.

   One day in the program was Olympic Games and the last day was a festival prepared by the children themselves.
    Izahir Begaj, the director of the elementary and junior high school in the village of Begaj said that: “This work reflects the peace in the humanitarian spirit of the 24 young volunteers of the Orthodox Church of Albania. We evaluate with the highest grade the work and effort of the staff. The program included educational and social techniques. We value your efforts for building our future.
     I hope that the collaboration will last for a long time and it will be in the spirit of friendship. Please give a special thank you to Archbishop Anastasios from us and to all your friends that support this activity in the service of our children.” This good will, the teachers expressed through a “Certificate of Gratitude to Archbishop Anastasios and for the whole staff of the orthodox youth that helped in the organization and implementation of this camp.”

    The camps that you organize have a very meaningful name, a name that has a perspective for the future. All that you do is valuable and you have seen that our children have come, have become friends and have created a love for your work” –was among the things that Izet Shala said, the director of “Naim Frasheri” school in Banja.

     The camps were organized with the permission of the Board of Education of the community of Malisheva and for all this collaboration the initiator and the leader of these activities with the Kosovo children, the representative of the Orthodox Church Mr. Nathan Hoppe thanked all the people that were present: “We thank you parents that support us and allow your children to be part of the camp. We wish you a wonderful summer and a good start on the new academic year. We thank the staff that has worked in the camps, and as your director said, a special thank you for Archbishop Anastasios and for all the members of the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania. We transmit you their best wishes for a good academic year.” 
     Since the war in 1999 the tradition of the collaboration between the youth of the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania and the teachers from Kosovo and their students in the field of education and entertainment of children has been very fruitful. The collaboration has deepened the friendship year after year. The interest of the children for these camps is growing each year as Mss. Fatime Krasniqi relates, when the school ends, the children are impatiently waiting for this camp, because they relax and learn to become people of knowledge and culture.

 

Isidor Koti

Translated by Gabriela Hoppe