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ON THIS PAGE: Legacy of war / Churches / Roma Camp / Medical care & Hospice at Home / Schools / Smile's Needs in Kosova / Archive Reports During the Kosova conflict, over 10,000 men were killed, leaving many widows and fatherless children. Approximately 2,000 men are still missing and every day mothers and wives of missing men visit the municipality office in Gjakove to ask if there is any news of their loves ones. During our time in Kosova in October 2003 we witnessed over 8,000 people gathering in the small village of Meje, as bodies were returned from a mass grave in Serbia, to be buried near their local village. Four and a half years previously, on 27 April 1999, Meje witnessed a terrible massacre as over 782 men, women and children were slaughtered during the ethnic cleansing. A mass grave of 500 had been discovered in Serbia and, after forensic DNA checks carried out by Scotland Yard, the bodies are being returned to Kosova in groups of 30 or 50 at a time. On Sunday 2 November 2003 people gathered from throughout Kosova to pay their last respects to friends and relatives as they were laid to rest. The massed crowd were completely silent as the coffins were presented to their respective families. Politicians made speeches, and Moslem and Catholic church leaders said prayers. The grief and sadness was all too evident; in one case three generations of one family were buried – grandfather, father and his 15-year-old son. Family members thanked the Smile team for attending the funeral, as they want the West to remember and not to forget that 10,000 men were killed in Kosova during the Balkans conflict of 1999, and that over 1,500 are still missing, presumed dead. We pray that these families may know God's peace and comfort during these difficult days.
Smile seeks to support Kosovan Christians through supplying Bibles, Christian literature and Christian discipleship materials, as well as assisting with outreach programmes and social action projects. The "Treasures of the Snow" book in Albanian has been distributed and aid, shoeboxes and computers provided for churches. Our teams regularly encourage the local Christians, visiting the churches, and helping with refurbishment where necessary. Pastors are invited to use the Library at the Smile Centre, and several Christian conferences have been held at the Centre, to train and encourage them, so that they may return to their ministries refreshed and strengthened.
Smile has for several years been supporting the Roma camp on the edge of Gjakove. Smile team members regularly care for and minister to the children and families there, delivering aid and shoeboxes of toys. We also support their Roma school which provides education for 300 children aged 4-11.
Smile regularly sends medical provisions (such as bandages, cotton wool and incontinence pads) and clinic/hospital equipment on our aid trucks. The standard of medical care is below what we are accustomed to in the UK, and many people cannot afford treatment. Donations of two ambulances have provided the Smile Centre with the means to take supplies and a mobile clinic to remote mountain villages, to bring medical care to those who cannot afford either treatment or travel costs to get to town. Gjakove has one of the highest incidences of breast and cervical cancer in the Balkans and currently there is no hospice care for those affected. Smile wishes to employ a doctor and nurses who will go to the patients' homes throughout the community, offering pain relief, medical and social support for those dying of cancer. Our sponsored Arctic Challenge enabled our Smile Kosova & Balkans Fund to help towards the initial setup costs of this project.
Smile has brought several young people to the UK for specialist treatment unavailable in Kosova - Ryve for a prosthetic arm (having lost her left arm in the war), Berat for removal of a bullet lodged near his lung, and Selvie for correction of a life-threatening curved spine. Shkurta was provided with a prosthetic eye, as she lost an eye as a baby due to shrapnel; she has now regained confidence and is integrating well with her school friends. We thank the Lord that we were able to fund these treatments and are grateful to the doctors and staff at the various hospitals and clinics for the time and care they gave to help our young patients in their recovery.
Smile has been able to provide many schools with basic equipment such as pens, paper chalk, crayons and shoeboxes full of toys, as well as supplying over 100 computers in order for them to establish IT departments. Our gift pack scheme has been a great idea in providing children with their own pens, pencils, paper and stationery in a zip folder, which is not supplied by the schools (details on Aid Guidelines page). We are delighted that we have also been able to twin schools in Kosova with schools in the UK. The schools correspond by letter or email, and staff members from schools in the UK have been able to visit their project and see first hand the difference their help is making. If your school would like to participate in the twinning project, please contact the Smile office for details. Through these long-term links, children in both schools gain an educational awareness of their different countries, cultures and needs. By twinning schools, interest and support can be raised in the UK to support children's education in Kosova. Special Needs Children We have links with schools for special needs and traumatised children in Kosova. Please let us know if you would like to twin with these schools or help in this particular area.
Minibus
Generator The high level of breast cancer in Kosova is believed by some to be due to the presence of contaminants from unexploded and uncleared mines in the region, after the war of 1999, exacerbated by poor health and high stress levels among certain groups. Smile would like to be able to help combat this disturbing rise in the incidence of breast cancer. Kosova's medical facilities are inadequate by our standards and treatment difficult to obtain for those who are not well-off, and out of reach for the many poor. If you can help us obtain the necessary mammography equipment to send out, we would be most interested to hear from you. If you would like to use your medical/nursing skills to help those who have little or no access to good medical care, you may wish to join one of our Step Out trips or discuss with us a longer-term stay, either in Kosova or elsewhere on one of our health care projects.
ARCHIVE REPORTS
Read about our projects in Kosova in
Smile Archive Kosova PDF (492 KB)
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