Archives

Serbia with Melanie Price.

This was my first visit into Serbia, although I had been to the Old Yugoslavia, many years ago for a holiday. At first I wasn’t very impressed, as the people looked so downcast and aggressive.

The city of Belgrade, showed the evidence of war, as we saw bombed buildings all over the place.  I was mistaken about the people though, what I thought was aggressiveness, was really resilience, and their downcast faces, soon awakened with life once the ice was broken with a friendly smile and "Dobur Dan".

Our aim was to see the conditions of the poor children in the city, to visit a persecuted Church in Belgrade, to show our support, and to bring communication and connection from our organisation.

We wanted to go to the villages, to meet with some locals who are trying to set up an education programme, amongst the poor peasant, and gipsy children. We achieved all our aims, and more besides.

The little school we visited was extremely basic. There were 22 students, and it started at 6pm and finished at 8.30pm. On arriving in this district it was already dark, so I couldn’t see the immediate surroundings, but I could hear lots of children’s voices, shouting with excitement, and then our vehicle was smothered with flattened faces stuck to the windows, as they tried to see who was inside. The children were dark skinned, and raw boned, with beautiful dark flashing eyes. They had been told that some "Anglesias" ladies were coming to speak to them. I had 1 hour to speak to them, and share about the reason that we were there.

The children were so receptive, and we spent half an hour answering questions, about England. Many of the boys wanted to know about Manchester United football club, they were excited to know that I came from that city.

“I told them about the work we were doing in Hungary and Romania, with the poor children, and as poor as they were themselves, they to wanted to help”. 
We shared about the differences in language and culture, but emphasized on the common aim of bringing peace, understanding, and tolerance of each others traditions, cultures, and beliefs. Most of the children came from Muslim homes, so they were mainly boys who were allowed to come to the tiny little school room, on the outskirts of Belgrade.

The average wage is 120 Euro per month, but the ethnic minorities in the city, just didn’t stand a chance of getting a job, because of lack of education. These few children will have a chance, as they are being educated with love, by Olgritza, and her team of 3.

They demonstrated in turn, their ability to recite the ABC s in Cyrillic and Modern Latin Alphabets. In unison they said their times tables. They have no desks, only a plank of wood. They have no paper or pens. Olgaritza s husband made a black board out of an old piece of metal sheeting, and chalk substitute was some kind of sulphur stone. No matter what these children lacked in resources, they lacked nothing in their enthusiasm for knowledge and information.

I kissed everyone ,as they left that tiny upper room, and gave each one a little bracelet of remembrance, with coloured beads, which had a meaning, referring to my visit. When the room was empty, and the voices gone ..I sighed a sigh of satisfaction, knowing we had done something worthwhile, and had had an impact on these children’s lives, that I believe they will never forget. The Sunflower Trust is looking at ways we can help Olgaritza and her team. WE want to send in some educational tools, and resources, so the children can have the best chance. Remember the children of today, are our teachers, and leaders of tomorrow. 

Return to Index of Articles.