Jeremy Konyndyk (a recent graduate of Calvin College) and I are the two
permanent staff members representing International Aid in Kosova. We are
part of a five organization alliance here and we emphasize medical
assistance. During this time we have had our hands busy in a great
number of projects. We are working in the Hospital of Pristina,
especially in the Clinic of Pediatrics, providing them with equipment,
medicine and other supplies vital for the clinic's existence. Most of
the equipment was broken, stolen or is simply inadequate to meet all of
the needs. We are also coordinating a project that will bring
bio-medical technicians here in order to mend and train local staff for
the maintenance and repair of medical equipment. In the town of
Djakovica(Gjakova) we are on the process of rehabilitating three medical
clinics. We just got through a seminar- series on trauma
counseling, with the help of some psychologists from the U.S. We were
able to hold the seminars in several elementary and secondary schools in
the province. We will soon follow up with another psycho-social program
that will be larger in size and specifically targeted in its intensity.
Besides these there is a number of other smaller projects where we had
have our hands in collaboration with other local and foreign NGO's , the
local church and other activists.
The future holds many uncertainties.
A tough winter is coming and many questions will continue to be left
unanswered or bitterly answered. Many thousands of homes will NOT be
rebuilt before the winter, and many thousand families will indeed stay
in a tent all winter long. Many schools will not have a roof on by
December, and many square miles of land will not be demined. The
future of Kosova is pending, and I feel very powerless to do much. We
are doing our best to be of help and are trying to go many extra
miles, however our efforts are limited, UN's efforts are limited, but
it has been a beautiful experience to work along so many people in a
huge effort to restore life.
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