Guest Blog: UNT Professors in Kosovo Day 5
Jun 16, 2010
This morning we drove through the last remaining camp in Gjakove. Vlora has lived in camps ever since the war and this is her home now.[...]
Guest Blog: UNT Professors in Kosovo Days 3 and 4
Jun 11, 2010
Today we walked. And walked. And walked. We walked all through “old town” in Gjakove and explored. The streets in that section of town are made of stone pavers, which we love, and the buildings are weathered from history.[...]
Guest Blog: UNT Professors in Kosovo to Evaluate SMF!
Jun 06, 2010
Children of war are inherently exposed to significant trauma. Due to widespread devastation of economic, structural, and educational systems these children have few options for reduction of distress and fostering of resiliency. The music education program of the Shropshire Music Foundation (SMF) has demonstrated significant long-term positive impact on children of war, including significantly higher secondary education graduation rates and college enrollment.[...]
Kosovo Youth Volunteer Blog by Qendresa
Jun 04, 2010
My name is Qendresa Isniqi. I am 14 years old and in the 9th grade. During the wartime I didn’t lose anyone from my immediate family, but my house was burned.[...]
Overnight With a Former Kosovo Youth Volunteer in Switzerland
Jun 02, 2010
I just had a wonderful day and night in Zurich, Switzerland. One of my former volunteers, Shiprim, lives in Zurich with his wife Shqipe and his beautiful son Rilon.[...]
Skivjan Village Music Classes and Glee!
May 29, 2010
We had our first class in the village of Skivjan today. Over 100 children registered on Tuesday, but I think there were almost 200 in attendance today. It was really great.[...]
A Week in Kosovo for Assessment
May 28, 2010
I’m in Kosovo for one week. I’ve never done this before. Two Psychology Professors from University of North Texas came to Kosovo to do research on our program and why it works, and brought me with them.[...]
The movie Robin Hood and pondering fighting and dying for
May 20, 2010
I went to see the new movie “Robin Hood” this week. It was good—I felt carried away into the time portrayed in the film, which for me is the best part of seeing a movie at a theater. But I left the theater feeling uneasy.[...]
Our Wonderful Uganda Youth Volunteers
May 15, 2010
Last night at 3am I got a phone call from Polycarp, one of our wonderful Uganda youth volunteers. He said they are really struggling right now and asked when Burim or I would be coming. I told him that Burim would definitely come in September. I could tell he was disappointed that they would have to wait that long, but he just said how glad he was that Burim would definitely be coming.[...]
The Most Amazing Trip to Northern Ireland
May 06, 2010
I just returned from the most interesting trip to Northern Ireland. The last time I was there was 2 years ago. I left quickly in 2008 because of the death of my father, and in 2009 we decided to put our NI programs on hiatus because of lack of funding.[...]