Kosovo
The people of Kosovo are still coming to terms with their region's long-standing history of ethnic clashes. Samaritan's Purse continues to reach out to those who have suffered from years of violence. Our Widow Ministry Center provides support groups, Bible studies, vocational training, and basic necessities to women who lost their husbands during the Serbian-Kosovar conflict. Our Kids Fests are designed to help traumatized children experience the joy found in Jesus Christ.
Note From the Field
The Impact of OCC
From country director Val Kroeker
We often hear stories of how Operation Christmas Child shoe box distributions change hearts and lives through the power of the Gospel and prayers sent with each box. But we in the field rarely get to hear how the donors are positively impacted.
That changed when “Edna” came to visit Kosovo.
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Edna is an elderly lady who has been packing 200 shoe boxes per year since her husband passed away five years ago. In 2009, she was nominated to participate in a radio station contest that highlighted charity during the Christmas season. She won the contest and in lieu of a cash reward or prize, she was granted her wish to travel with her grown daughter to participate in an actual shoe box distribution.
The ladies were hosted by the Kosovo office for three days in January. They were able to participate in distributions at a school for handicapped children and a preschool in a very economically challenged neighborhood. They were deeply moved by the joy of the children as they opened their boxes and heard the Christmas story presented by the SP staff. Edna's joy was even broadcast live on the radio in her home country via cell phone during one of the visits!
As moving as those experiences were, however, they paled by comparison to the afternoon the ladies enjoyed with the SP Kosovo staff.
We shared a meal and each staff member shared the testimonies of how they received Christ. One spoke of the impact a shoe box had on her and how her extended family was saved and now her brother is a pastor. The ladies were positively undone and in tears as another talked about how his daughter's life was saved by a Children’s Heart Project operation in the U.S. where his wife accepted Christ and came home to share with her family.
Others shared about the losses and trauma they suffered during the war and how Christ has transformed and renewed them in every way. Everyone shared how they now serve others in ministry through SP and their churches.
From the comments our visitors made, I believe this may have been the first time they really understood the love and transforming Gospel message sent with the shoe boxes. Edna's daughter exclaimed over and over that this was “the best afternoon of my life. I have never felt such joy and experienced so much love from a group of people...ever.”
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PROJECTS
Kids Fests, Gjakova
The two main purposes of this program are to help the traumatized children of war-torn Kosovo recapture their innocence and joy, and to introduce them to the Gospel. Every Fest has 30 minutes of high-energy praise as well as games, object lessons, or dramas that reinforce a weekly Bible story. The program began in 2004 as a test project for six weeks, and has grown into a weekly meeting now starting its fifth year. Up to 100 children participate, with weekly attendance averaging 60. In July, the Kids Fests worship team was the featured song and dance group at a Samaritan's Purse summer camp that impacted more than 110 children. Plans are underway for a mini Kids Fest program to be conducted in four villages outside Gjakova in August. Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes were distributed in December as a "door opener" for the Kids Fests program to be received in the summer.
Children's Heart Project
Children who have been born with congenital heart defects that fit the criteria of our project are identified by co-operating Kosovar pediatric cardiologists. They, along with a family member and translator, are flown to North America for surgery. The staff of Samaritan's Purse-Kosovo visit the children and their families for one year after they return, providing prayer, encouragement, and Christian literature. We also connect them with believers and/or a local church in their area. The project has benefited 139 children since 1999.
Widow Ministry, Gjakova
During the Serbian-Kosovar conflict, almost 10,000 women lost their husbands. Samaritan's Purse is helping 32 widows by funding a ministry center where they come for a weekly meeting for fellowship and time around the Word of God. Many widows are discouraged from wearing make-up or doing anything that would express any joy in life. In the center the women are reminded of their God-given beauty, value, and purpose. It is a safe place of hope and healing. In an effort to alleviate poverty we have developed two income-generating programs, the making and selling of handcrafted greeting cards and the sale of crocheted doilies and handcrafted Christmas decorations and bookmarks. We also have met practical needs such as the provision of firewood, school supplies, English lessons, food packs, clothing, shoes, hygiene kits, as well as home renovation projects.
Kids Klub
This is a follow-up program for boys and girls who have received successful heart surgery through Children's Heart Project, Samaritan's Purse staff visit the child's home to present a Bible story, worship songs, and a game or related activity for the child, the siblings, cousins, and neighbors. Parents, grandparents and visiting neighbors often attend, providing a great way to reach the older generation as well. Some of the moms participate as enthusiastically as the children. Since May 2008, four new Klubs have been started for children and one Klub was successfully handed over to a local church. The program has benefited approximately 180 children.
Roma Colony Outreach, Prizren, Brekoc, and Gjakova
The Roma in Kosovo are marginalized and discriminated against. Most live in abject poverty in areas that would qualify as slums. In April 2007, Samaritan's Purse began reaching out to children in the Gjakova Roma colony by teaching about Biblical character traits, hygiene, nutrition, health, exercise, and many other practical things. In September 2007, we rented a center Prizren to teach 30 children how to read and write. A Bible story is the highlight of those classes. A pre-school class began in March for 20 Roma children in the community of Brekoc, a suburb of Gjakova. In May, literacy classes were begun for 54 children from ages 7 to 12 who live in the Gjakova colony. Most have not attended school before. In addition to the classes, Samaritan's Purse has provided blankets, shoes, clothing, hygiene kits, food packets, school supplies, winter outerwear, and medical treatment for Roma communities in both Gjakova and Prizren. These programs have directly benefited 134 children, as well as their parents and siblings.
PRAYER REQUESTS
Pray for the 54 Roma children who will start school for the first time in September. Ask God to be with them in their studies and to help them integrate into the Gjakova school system. Pray that these children will form healthy friendships with non-Roma children.
Pray for the Samaritan’s Purse staff working in Kosovo. We want to work together in unity and to be accurate representatives of our Lord.
Pray for continued peace and stability in Kosovo. There have been some astounding improvements in the country since its independence, but there is still a 60 percent unemployment rate. Please pray for economic advances and an increase in job opportunities.
Stories from Kosovo
Restoring Hope to the Roma
A literacy program is providing educational opportunities for Gypsy children in Kosovo
Restoring Hearts and Souls
The Children’s Heart Project provides a way for a girl from Kosovo to receive life-saving surgery
