A Kids for Peace Camp held in Brezovice/Brezovica in March 2010 was another positive step forward in making children more aware about their rights and how they can be ‘agents of change’ in their schools and communities across Kosovo.

The three-day winter camp involved 32 Kids for Peace club leaders who were accompanied by 12 chaperons (teacher/volunteers).

“Being aware of our rights, now we are more self-confident to address important issues in our school not just to other students, but also to teachers and even to the School Director,” said 13-year-old Benita Elezi, who participated in the Kids for Peace Winter Camp.

As a peace initiative, founded in 2002, the Kids for Peace project promotes responsible and tolerant living through theory sessions, games and a range of interactive activities.

The project operates in six Kosovo municipalities with 16 Kids for Peace clubs.  Around 400 children participate in regular activities, which include basic Peace Education with a special emphasis on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, HIV & AIDS, gender equality, the environment, and the inclusion of disabled and other marginalised groups in society.

As part of this project, the winter camp was focused on reflection, activities, training on the rights of children, and initiatives on how children’s voices can be heard.

“Children in Kosovo do not have the possibility to raise their voices,” said Rita Llula, Kids for Peace Project Coordinator. “So the main goal of this camp was to make children’s voice heard by others and for children’s rights to be respected.”

“What I liked most about this camp was the way children’s rights were presented by the Rahovec club members through examples and games,” continued Benita.

The children participating at the camp were enthusiastic about the opportunity to discuss issues about child rights awareness and come up with solutions to address them. “If people are more aware about these rights they will respect them more”, said the participants.

“The children were active in developing a plan on peer-to-peer interaction in their schools to raise awareness about their rights,” said Rita Llula.

Milica Marjanovic, a 12-year-old Serbian girl, and Kids for Peace Club member likes everything that is new and enjoys her time spent in club activities, learning about other views on life. She wants to learn how to be a good listener and become a better communicator.

“Human/Children’s rights is a very interesting topic to learn about,” says Milica. “I’m really happy that I had this opportunity here at the camp.”

Benita, Milica and their peers from the Kids for Peace Clubs had the opportunity not only to learn many things about their rights, but at the same time meet with friends from different cities. They shared experiences of every day challenges experienced in school, sport, music and fashion.  They had the chance to have fun and enjoy each other’s company.

“It was very nice in the camp. We were like a big family,” says Milica.

But the most important thing achieved from the winter camp is that the children are becoming active in promoting their rights.

“The children have demonstrated a great change in their self-esteem by breaking the barriers that they had about child rights issues,” said Rita Llula. “Now children can find help by themselves by going to schools or other institutions for their voices to be heard”.

Into the future, the children will continue to raise awareness among their parents, communities, and schools through peer to peer programmes, so that their rights can be heard, promoted and respected.

“For the future we are looking to increase the awareness about children’s rights and to support the Kids for Peace Clubs to apply their rights by peer to peer initiatives,” said Rita Llula.

She added, “Also, in the future we want to involve the school structures more to raise awareness about children’s rights”.

www.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/wvmeero/5235b204cb7b008e498faf183261c268.htm

Children from Bosnia villages performed at the main square in the Capital of Sarajevo

“Where are you from? What is your name?” – these were the opening questions of the children’s street theatre performance, which was a grand finale of World Vision’s Peacebuilding Summer Camp 2010, funded by The Eagle Down Foundation and World Vision Switzerland.

“Jelena, Mirza, Benjamin, Hanka… Olovo, Kalesija, Zvornik, Visoko…”, echoed at the main square of the Capital on 8^th of July 2010.

53 girls and boys (Serbs, Bosniaks, Croats, Roma) from 7 municipalities were working hard for 5 days at Jahorina Mountain to shape their messages of peace and friendship into a street theatre performance.  This was a result of various workshops during the Summer Camp: peer education in peacebuilding, evening debates on inter-religious tolerance and gender equality, art and music workshops and a theatre laboratory under the supervision of Maja Mitic and Jugoslav Hadzic, experienced actors from DAH Theatre from Belgrade.

Some topics were freely and openly discussed and other, of more sensitive nature, were processed in the theatre laboratory through movement, play, music and drawing. For the first three days children worked in three groups in order to produce scenario, scene and music for the street performance and the last two days they were rehearsing all together for the final event. Excitement was at its peak in the bus to Sarajevo and during the walk from the Cathedral to the Children of Sarajevo Square.

Of course, it was not all work: a lot of fun and free activities (walking, swimming, sports) helped in strengthening the new friendships that emerged during the camp.

“I was happy to meet many new friends of different ethnic and religious backgrounds and there were no divisions among us”, said one of the many messages the children shared in their Camp Journals.

Another one: “It is important that your opinion is respected.”

And: “I was proud because everybody applauded when I sang. It meant that I was accepted.” 

At the end: “It is so sad that we have to part. Greetings to those who made this possible!”

And yes, many tears were shed after the long-lasting applause of the audience in Sarajevo, because of mixed feelings of happiness and sorrow. The children have promised that friendship would not end but would last longer than the Camp itself. To start fulfilling the promise a new Facebook group was formed immediately upon their return for sharing friendship, joy, love, jokes, photos and serious matters…

“I think our objective was met,” says Adis Jamakovic, one of the teachers who accompanied children from Krivaja, “and that is the strong friendship between children of different backgrounds. You might not believe it, but they are still in daily contact two weeks after the Camp! Someone would say this is not much, but I think that nobody has done such a wonderful thing after the war in Bosnia… Kids from all parts of Bosnia have showed us there is hope for friendship and respect beyond the religious differences…”

The Kids for Peace program in Kosovo has received annual support from Eagle Down since the founding of our foundation in 2004.

See link below for more information on the Children’s Day:

http://meero.worldvision.org/news_article.php?newsID=2064&countryID=8

http://afghanistan.blogs.cnn.com/2010/04/16/can-lessons-from-other-nations-show-way-forward-in-afghanistan/

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/04/16/afgh.kosovo.forgiveness/index.html

Fatmire’s 2009 Speech from The Eagle Down Foundation on Vimeo.

Eagle Down’s Board of Directors member, Fatmire Feka was invited to speak at the “Why Everything Must Change” conference in Oakville, Canada on 24 October, 2009 (www.ychange.ca).  Her passionate speech about her own life experience that led her to explore the depths of forgiveness was truly a touching and memorable presentation for all those who attended.

We look forward to having our implementing partners launch these new projects and to the positive results that will no doubt emanate from these activities.

“Just received this from Ahmedabad… That Peace Camp up in the hills with its sunrise meditation on top of the fort -its had some impact. There are 20 children/youth who are now Play for Peace trainers, and one of them is also at Manila now (participating in a youth peace activist conference).

“On 2nd October, (the) 20 youths from our Area Development Program did Play For Peace sessions with not less then 1000 children from different schools & insititutes of Ahmedabad city along with other voluntary organization. The event was organized at Sabarmati Ashram. All our contributions were highly appreciated.

Thanks for your initiatives. It has made a difference in the life of many.”

This is indeed encouraging news for all of us here at Eagle Down!

The forum will bring together approximately 50 children and youth peacebuilders from various countries of the Asia-Pacific Region, the Middle East, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean to share their views, experiences and knowledge about peace and conflict and to build harmonious relationships despite their diverese cultures, faiths and traditions.  The forum’s theme is “Young Peacebuilders Shaping the Future”.

Both policy makers and academics are often guilty of underestimating the unique power of children and youth and the role they can play as positive agents of change and key actors in peacebuilding initiatives.  This forum, organized by World Vision, hopes to counteract the prevailing attitudes and aims to equip the young peacebuilders with the necessary tools to help them promote peace within their own comminities.

We hope to post some interesting results from this conference once Fatmire returns home.

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“Kosovo’s Kids for Peace project has received the first annual Peacebuilding Award by World Vision International for the unique provision of opportunities for multi-ethnic interaction among children and youth to help overcome decades of ethnic tension.

“The International Day of Peace prize award ceremonies held by World Vision around the world also recognized World Vision Rwanda with the same award while the Peacemaking award was given to Mary Ann Arnado of the Philippines.

“Children representing ‘Kids for Peace’ clubs, government and non-government organization representatives, religious leaders and other stakeholders and guests also marked the 10th anniversary of World Vision’s work in Kosovo, where ethnic divisions still inhibit the integration of the Serb minority community into the wider society. “This year World Vision is marking the 10th anniversary of commitment to changing the lives of children in post-war Kosovo. We were amongst the few agencies that responded in the early stages of the conflict in 1998 to resume in 1999 with the massive return of refugees in war-ravaged Kosovo,” shared Rusudan Kharabadze, World Vision Kosovo’s national director.

“During the peacebuilding award ceremony children shared their messages of peace through singing, recitations dances and short sketches. One of these showed children playing together and a girl living with HIV asking to join them – only to be told that she is not allowed to play because she might infect them. One of their friends joins the conversation and explains to the group that the virus is not transmitted through games and that as friends they should help her to cope with the disease.

“Children were in turn rewarded with enthusiastic applause and the endorsement of Sue Williams, the Director of the Summer Peacebuilding Institute of Eastern Mennonite University and the wife of deceased Steve Williams (1951-2007), after whom the Peace Prize is established. “It is my great honour and privilege to be with you today to recognize a creative and important contribution to Peace in Kosovo,” said Sue Williams, opening the World Vision International Peace Prize ceremony. “Many excellent organizations were nominated, and all of them surely deserve a peace prize for doing what they can to build peace in difficult places. The panel chose this project from among them because we recognized the authentic involvement of young people in Kids for Peace, and the organizational commitment of World Vision Kosovo to the integrated peace and development of this society.”

“Describing the life and work of her late husband, who was instrumental in forming PaxNet, World Vision’s global peacebuilding network, Williams went on to tell the youth: “All of us here, and around the world, recognize your excellent programme, your commitment to peace, and your capacity to change the world. May you continue to commit yourselves to building peace in Kosovo and in the world, and may you continue to enjoy it.”

Representatives from Kids for Peace received a trophy and an award of US$5,000 from Sue Williams and Charles Dokmo, Vice-President for World Vision in the Middle East & Eastern Europe Region. The Vice-President likened Fatmire Feka, who as a young teenager founded Kids for Peace, with a tiny mustard seed, which grows to be among the tallest of trees in a garden. Dokmo used the symbol of the mustard seed to show the way an idea is planted and the kind of impact it can have over time with the right kind of nurture. “It is important for children to understand that this is a symbol of their future and to make this a success. They need to be strong and courageous, work as a team, keep their relationships strong, listen more than they talk and pass the idea on and share it, pass the seed and the plant, as symbolically children now are passing on this plant standing strongly beside one another and little by little we all become changed people.”

Photos are posted in our “Photo Gallery”.