Give refugee children in Serbia hope for education

Jovana, is a 16-year old girl from Raca, a small town near Kragujevac in central Serbia. She was born in a collective centre for refugees and displaced people from Kosovo two years after her parents had fled Kosovo.. For her first 13 years of life, one room in the Centre was her only home which she shared with her parents, younger sister and a little brother. The family was granted an apartment in the social housing complex when Jovana turned 14. She was  absolutely delighted to have the privacy of her own room for the first time in her life, to have bathroom only used by her family. But the happiness was only too short lived. Her parents had no steady jobs, only feeding the whole family and educating two elder children at elementary school  was more than they could earn for. With your support, we could provide the girls with textbooks only. When Jovana was in the seventh grade, she also won our prize for the best pupil among the children of the refugees and displaced people. And as extremely good pupil as she was, there was no hope for her to continue her education at secondary school, she would have to have money to travel and stay at a dormitory in another town if she wanted to go to the secondary school which could give her diploma good enough to be able to find a steady job quickly after graduation.

With your support, we could offer the scholarship to Jovana and with that money she could pay for the food and accommodation at the Secondary School for Postal and Communication Technicians in Belgrade. She had only excellent grades in the first year of the new school, but after school, she found it difficult to be alone in a totally different and big city.

And this year, in September, a new room-mate arrived – Andjela, a girl from a small town Krupanj. Andjela had her own sad story that she used to cover with a broad smile. Her family lost everything in the floods that hit Serbia three years ago. She and her sister were also excellent pupils, but with little hope to continue their education. With your support for another project which we have on GlobalGiving, Andjela has also been supported by the scholarship.

It took just a couple of days for two girls, who had never met before, to realise that they are both going to the same school, and are both there only because they are supported through the scholarships which you have enabled with your donations, although through different projects.

They are best friends now. The fact that they both receive our scholarships brought them even closer to each other. Jovana has even started going to the creative writing afterschool classes and has started an additional arts related course, whilst her friend Andjela has been attending acting afterschool classes. They fight home sickness together, and exchange stories about their siblings when they return from home visits.

Please, keep helping us help these children. In the coming End-of-the-year Campaign, which starts from November 28^th, we are trying to raise enough funds to help these children stay at school and help their families educate other siblings. Our aim is to raise 5,000 USD through the campaign. Your assistance in both donating and spreading the word about our efforts to your friends will be of significant help!

Links:

• Our website
• Our Facebook page

Violeta A. was just a girl when her family fled from Kosovo in 1999. They were put in the Refugee camp in Raca and she grew up in a 9 square metre cubicle sharing it with her parents and a sister, sharing a bathroom with other 23 families. The first chance to get independent and move out from the camp she took and after eight years in the camp she was finally living in a rented, but separate small apartment. In this apartment her three children – Stanomir, Filip and Kristina are growing up. Stanomir completed the elementary school and enrolled into secondary vocational school for auto mechanics. Filip, a two-year younger brother was going to the sixth grade and little Kristina was a toddler when Violeta lost her job and had only social benefit as a regular income.

She knocked on every door, asked for any job in fear of becoming once again dependent and homeless, only this time with three children. She asked us to help in any way. With your help, we provided textbooks for Stanomir and Filip. When Kristina started her education, we provided her with textbooks and free school snack.

Today, Stanomir is in his last year of secondary school and can’t wait to start earning money and supporting his family. Filip is in his last year of the elementary school and has big plans. He has a great talent for singing and has already won many children’s competitions. Last year he was a semi-finalist in the national singing competition for children up to 15 years of age. They need our support this year so that Stanomir can graduate and be ready for the job, and Filip to complete the elementary school and continue his education. Kristina is starting the fifth grade when many new subjects are introduced, more textbooks are needed and, as she has grown a lot during the Summer, new clothes and shoes are a must for her to go to school.

Please, help us continue supporting these children, so that they never learn what it looks like losing a home and being homeless.

Links:

• Our website
• Our Facebook page