Camps for Children with Special Needs in Balkans

TWI FOR THE CHILDREN
Camps for Children with Special Needs
at Rama

Purpose: This page describes "TWI for the Children's" camp for children with Special Needs at the House of Peace in Rama, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The goals of this project are to:

(1) Establish a program for children with disabilities and their parents in an atmosphere that reflects the lessons of love and kindness (2) Organize activities that provide interaction with typical (children with no physical disabilities) children that build social skills and bring them out of isolation caused by their disability. (3) Provide educational programs that teach teamwork in a fun atmosphere through games, music, crafts and stories skills.

The Director of the Pediatric Clinic in Sarajevo recommended the children with Special Needs participate in this project. In 2000, TWI asked the parents of special needs children for suggestions on how best to meet the needs of their children. They told us the children had not been away from home since before the war and they asked for a weekend camp by the water. This was an exciting idea and we decided to take the children, their sisters and brothers, and their parents for a weekend retreat at The House of Peace in the mountains of central Bosnia. The House of Peace is located at a Catholic monastery in an area called Rama. Most of the food for the meals is grown on the land behind the monastery and the nuns prepare and serve the three meals a day. Besides the living quarters, there is a beautiful chapel attached to the building with a bell tower that serves as the meal call and Sunday worship.

We stay in Rama over the weekend so families have the opportunity to attend the church service on Sunday and to witness people from the little village outside the walls of the monastery walking to church. This is very exciting for everyone. We provide wonderful meals for the two days. The food is prepared and served with much love by the nuns. The children enjoy eating a delicious meal with their new special utensils that we purchase with contributions from many generous donors.

We host 48 people at the camp and that includes our American and Bosnian team, the children, their sisters and brothers, and their parents. Being able to bring the entire family makes the weekend camp less stressful for the children. Many of the children have emotional problems, as well as physical disabilities, so having their families with them makes 'being away from home' for the first time a positive adventure. We have worked with special needs children and their families since 2002 and we have also hosted one-day "camps in the park" with the brothers, sisters and parents coming for the day and returning home in the afternoon.

For many of the families this is the first time they have been away from home for any extended period of time and it is an opportunity for everyone to stop for a short time and find peace and quiet in what one Bosnian called "this holy place". The surroundings, combined with the activities and stories we prepare make everyone feel safe and loved. The combination of the peaceful setting, the beautiful surroundings, the fun-filled activities and the music make the children open to hear and feel our messages of love. They visit the chapel and listen to the music presented by the nuns. This could be the first time to be in any kind of a religious setting for many of them. The priest walks them around the grounds and explains the sculptures of "The Last Supper", "the Cross" and "Mary with baby Jesus". He explains that the ringing of the bell in the Chapel tower is to call the community to worship.

We have a wonderful team with us each summer and their commitment is certainly contagious. We have made "The House of Peace at Rama" our permanent site for the weekend camps, because it gave all of us the calm that we need to work with these precious children and their families. Lessons of love are told in the pictures stained in the beautiful windows in the chapel, in the sculptures and in the kindness of the nuns who served us. The weekend is always a wonderful success and all of us look forward to returning.

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updated: 2/3/2008