The humanitarian panel “I Want Play and Books, Not Worry” was held at the Faculty of Teacher Education in Belgrade on Wednesday, April 10. The contributions collected at the panel were dedicated to the Summer School, which will be held for the second time in Bratilovce in August 2024.
During the evening, a total of 121,000 dinars was raised for our Summer School 2024 project.
A panel dedicated to children in enclaves and across the country
The challenges of growing up and receiving an education in Kosovo and Metohija were discussed by distinguished professors Vera Radović from the Faculty of Teacher Education in Belgrade and Ranko Rajović, lecturer at the Faculty of Education, University of Koper. Representing our organization, Marija Vasić shared the issues and conclusions we have documented during five years of humanitarian work in Kosovo and Metohija.
What was discussed?
-Everything is a huge problem—they have no books, no schools, sometimes just one student in an entire school building. We don’t even need to mention that they must be given a decent life and freedom of movement. But if we don’t prepare them for life, if they don’t have an education—the foundation of every society—then Serbs will disappear from Kosovo and Metohija in 20 years, said Professor Rajović, reflecting on the situation in the enclaves.
Professor Vera Radović explained that no reform or innovation is more important than the educational and nurturing role of teachers and the school system.
-The nurturing part means approaching a child emotionally, socially, aesthetically, environmentally. Education is a value that is given to them—growth, improvement, solidarity, empathy. Each child has different needs, yet schooling is the same for all. The nurturing part is the most important, she emphasized.
-What worries us most is that the school system does not recognize the unique challenges that children in enclaves face. Their way of life is ignored. There is no special program for children who have lived in a kind of ghetto for over twenty years. Those born and raised there are deprived of innovations, methods, and technologies that are widely applied elsewhere, added Marija Vasić, presenting one of our key findings.
A call to support Summer School 2024
As an organization striving to responsibly address humanitarian needs where we work, highlighting the key problems of the population, we initiated the Summer School project in Bratilovce. Believing that education and healthy childhood development are the fundamental rights of every child, through this educational and recreational program we aim to support children in enclaves—helping them spend time with peers in play and joyful learning.
Recognizing how crucial this is for their growth and future—as underlined by the speakers at the panel—we want this project to bring the children of enclaves into the focus of our public and inspire systemic solutions for the problems they face.
Support and donate!
We invite you to help us with your donations for Summer School 2024 so that every child in Kosovo and Metohija has the right to a carefree childhood.
