ANNUAL MINUTES

October 2005

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

OF

TWI FOR THE CHILDREN, INC.

The directors of TWI for the Children, Inc., listed below, consented to the holding of said meeting by e-mail, on 20 October 2005, and to the transaction of any and all business by the directors or voting by proxy, including, approval of 2006 projects and approval of the financial report for CY 2005 to date.

Lisbeth Willis, Board Member
Harry E. Soyster, Board Member
Julia Warden, Board Member
Philippe Dupont, Board Member

OTHER BUSINESS

·  The Secretary has submitted payment for the annual Corporation registration fee to the State Corporation Office.

·   A report of the TWI for the Children Bosnian Activity, Year 2005 was prepared by the Secretary and filed at the Corporation Office. The 2005 projects were as follows:

Report of 2005 Project Activities:

•       Camps 2 Kids 2005.  

 During the summer of 2005, we expanded this project to three Camp2Kids teams by organizing a split-camp team within the New Jersey Synod group in addition to the TWI Team. These teams took camps to more than 2,500 children during June and July 2005. The New Jersey Teams concentrated on taking the one-day camp to schools in Bosnian villages while the TWI Team worked with orphanages, children with special needs as well as with selected schools. Our volunteers continued a four-year partnership with the New Jersey Synod Lutheran Church Teams. Many of our volunteers for the TWI Camp2Kids Team returned from 2004. The New Jersey team, consisting of 23 volunteers formed in two-teams, conducted camps at schools in Banja Luka, Kozarac, Sipovo, Gradacac, Donja Mahala, Brcko, Jajce, Gorazde, Foca, Potoci, Sipovo Mountain School, Travnick, Visoko and a school in Sarajevo (Vojkovici). The New Jersey Team also held a two-day retreat at the “House of Peace” in Rama.  The TWI team hosted camps at the Ilidza School in Sarajevo , a school at the Rama village and in the Republic of Srpska town of Trebijne ; a camp for children with special needs in Srebrencia; camps at orphanages in Zenica and Sarajevo and extended-stay (two-day) camps at orphanages in Mostar and Montenegro .

In July 2005, TWI received an invitation from UNESCO to provide two teams of ten teens each to attend their camp in Greece . TWI sent a team from Kosovo organized by the “Center for Promotion of Education” (QPEA) and a team from Bosnia organized and led by Vjeko Saje . These teams represented the diversity of these regions and served to promote reconciliation among the people of the Balkans. 

•       Training Workshops 2005. 

The TWI for the Children Training Workshop Project seeks to provide new horizons and to give educators tools to promote student self-awareness, critical thinking, reasoned decision-making, civic responsibility, and adaptability to a rapidly changing world. These seminars help teachers and administrators provide education that will equip students with the academic knowledge, life skills, and thirst for lifelong learning that they will need in order to become successful adults, partners, parents, employees, citizens, voters, community members and leaders in the future.

•       March 2005 Training Workshop- Kosovo: On Saturday, March 19, 2005, the TWI training consultant from London, England, Mrs. Bonnie Miller, conducted a seven-hour educational seminar at the Hotel Palace in Mitrovica, Kosovo in which 160 teachers and school directors participated.  The presence of directors (school principals) was vital in enabling schools to improve their “climate” and to introduce school-wide innovations. Morning themes included teacher-student relations, active and engaging methods of instruction, and a relevant curriculum for the 21^st century.  Discussion of the child as a whole person with unique talents and as a world citizen contributor to the future included the topics of emotional intelligence, life skills such as communication and conflict resolution, and participatory abilities for living in a democracy. The afternoon session concentrated on children with learning disabilities and attention problems and how to identify these students and help them in the regular classroom.  The importance of parent-teacher communication was also emphasized.

     On March 20, 2005, sixty high-level Ministry of Education administrators from all areas of Kosovo came to Pristina to learn innovative ways to make their school systems more child-friendly and relevant to the needs of students of Kosovo.  Participants included the Deputy Minister of Education, all seven regional directors of education, and heads of curriculum, professional education, inspectors, and special education as well as university professors.

*        April 2005, Training Workshop- Bosnia :  From April 10 – 15, 2005, Mrs. Bonnie Miller, presented training workshops for more than 300 educators.  The three seminars for teachers and pedagogues (school counselors) covered the regions of Sarajevo , Ilidza and Tuzla cantons.  In addition to general information about active and interactive methods for teaching students, the seminars concentrated on the needs of children with learning disabilities and attention problems and how to identify and help them in the regular classroom.  The importance of parent-teacher communication and teamwork was emphasized and resource materials were provided.

•       June 2005, Training Workshop-Albania,:  TWI for the Children partnering with Plan-Albania presented two seminars for educators and professionals on June 13 and 14, 2005 in Tirana.  The two seminars, presented by Mrs. Bonnie Miller, were attended by 70 school directors from the areas where Plan-Albania works (mostly in northern and border areas of Albania ).  The morning session focused on the challenges of educating children for the 21^st century and discussed how schools can address the needs of the whole child--intellectual, social and emotional needs.  The workshop provided instruction for using active methods to make learning relevant to students’ lives and offered ideas for creating a positive school atmosphere that encourages children to meet their full potential.  The afternoon concentrated on ways to identify and help children with “Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficit Disorder”.  The importance of parent-school cooperation was stressed, including specific techniques to improve communication.  The seminar ended with an exercise in which the school administrators discussed among themselves the next step:  how they will share what they have learned in the workshop with the teachers they supervise and how they will adapt their schools to make them more responsive to the needs of children.

The second day’s seminar consisted of representatives of NGOs, Ministry of Education personnel, teachers, Plan employees, and others interested in helping children with special needs.  The workshop focused on learning, social, and emotional problems and needs of children with Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficit Disorders. The workshop offered suggestions for helping these children at school and at home.

•       October 2005, Training Workshop- Kosovo,: TWI for the Children in partnership with the Center for Promotion of Education (QPEA) presented three workshops in Kosovo.  On 1 October, a seminar/workshop was presented in Gjilane, Kosovo to 160 teachers and school principals. On 2 October, a workshop was presented in Ferizaj, Kosovo to 100 principals and Ministers. On 3 October, a workshop was presented in Pristina, Kosovo to University students. The seminars presented by Mrs. Bonnie Miller sought to improve the psychosocial functioning of schools, to create a safe, supportive and motivating environment for all students, and to provide in the frame of the school some basic educational and psychosocial assistance to children with special needs. The goal was to protect and promote children's well-being in the school environment in general and to contribute to the social reconstruction and development of the country. 

•       Training Workshops Bosnia – October 2005:  During the period October 10 – 14, 2005, Mrs. Bonnie Miller continued to lead a series of Train the Trainer, LD/ADD workshops at three new locations – Vares (75 teachers), Orasje (140 teachers) and Doboj (170 teachers) in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This workshop series follows-on to the TWI for the Children series of workshops to bring educational methods and instruction, designed to identify and help children with Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficit Disorder, to teachers, directors and caregivers in Bosnia.  The importance of parent-school cooperation was stressed, including specific techniques to improve communication.

Humanitarian Support Projects: 

These projects provided assistance to persons with special needs in the Balkans.

•       Learning Center: 

 In 2004, TWI for the Children, Inc.  stopped its funding for the Learning Center for Children with Special Needs in Sarajevo , Bosnia due to lack of funds.  In 2005, the “ Learning Center ” now registered in Sarajevo as the Association of mothers with children with special needs “Joy of Life” made Training Workshops International (TWI) for the Children, Inc. a member of their Advisory Board, serving as educational advisors for their children, teachers and parents. In this capacity, TWI for the Children, Inc. helps organize projects for teachers, caretakers and parents that teach such topics as how to work with children with disabilities, learning disorders, attention deficit disorders, trauma, drug and alcohol prevention and ways parents can work with their children in the home.  The Learning Center sought financial assistance to increase the size of their facility and to improve their program by developing a musical activity for the children with special needs. TWI for the Children, Inc. provided musical instruments for this program and financial support to allow the Center to increase its physical plant and instructor base. Musical activities now include providing time for song, choosing favorite tunes, using visual aids, repeating the melodies and dancing. Children with special needs learn about boundaries by performing and becoming aware of their freedom. They build awareness of their purpose in society by studying with typical kids and learn to study and think independently. They realize various ways of expressing themselves, and how to love and receive affection.

•       Camp for Children with Special Needs: 

    In July 2005, TWI for the Children, Inc. hosted 46 Children and their families at a weekend retreat and camp-time at a monastery at Rama in the mountains of central Bosnia .  This is the fourth year TWI has been able to provide this project to these families. At this camp/retreat, families and their children with special needs swim, play games and participate in a day of camp activities. Meals and transportation are provided as well as excellent accommodations. The families look forward to this activity each year.

•       Gifts for Persons of Need: 

    In 2005, TWI for the Children, Inc. provided support to our Transportation Coordinator, Vahid Memic, who lost his leg to cancer.  Vahid continues to improve and now has an artificial leg and works to provide transportation, maintains our van and hires drivers for our projects.

International Studies:

These projects seek to provide educational opportunities to students in the Balkans.

•       Scholarships Abroad:

    In 2005, TWI for the Children provided funds to two students for their continued University education in Greece and one student to complete his education in Sarajevo for the 2005-2006 school year. Two of the students are from Bosnia and the other is from Kosovo. These students must maintain above average grades as well as demonstrate continued leadership ability.  The aim of the project is to return future leaders of quality to their countries.

•       Educational Support for Orphanages: 

    This project, which partners an American university student with a Bosnian University student, sends volunteers from the United States to the Balkans to work with children in orphanages in Bosnia and in Montenegro .  Volunteers provide elementary instruction in the English language and help the children with their school studies. Instruction is provided and integrated with crafts, computer instruction and games.  Classroom instruction is not part of the project. In 2005, TWI sent three volunteers to work with orphanages.  Volunteers were from Universities in Tennessee , Virginia and Michigan . These volunteers were partnered with three Bosnian university students.  These volunteers and their Bosnian partners worked from May 17 – June 18, 2005 at orphanages in Mostar , Bosnia and Bijela , Montenegro .  The success of this project can best be assessed by the improvement in grades achieved by the children at the orphanages.

Projects Proposed for 2006:

Camps 2 Kids:

*        Camps to Kids in Bosnia , Montenegro and Kosovo.

TWI will continue this project with four teams. This will provide coverage of schools and orphanages for the Camps2Kids activity and allow us to continue working in Montenegro .  TWI is coordinating with the Center for Promotion of Education in Kosovo to bring a Camp2kids team of volunteers to Kosovo in 2006.  A TWI core group will coordinate the camp theme and oversee all teams involved in the Camps2Kids project in BiH and in Montenegro .  Leaders selected by TWI will organize and supervise their teams. Individual teams will provide funding for lunches, transportation, interpreters, craft supplies and sports equipment for the schools they will visit.

*        UNESCO Camp for Teens: TWI will provide teams from Balkan countries to participate in the UNESCO camp in Greece in August 2006.

Training Workshops:

TWI for the Children will continue providing Training Workshops in the traveling format from the past two years to maximize its outreach to instructors in the Balkans. Taking training workshops to train key teachers, caregivers and Ministers in subjects such as learning disabilities in children, discipline, drugs, teaching strategies and other topics specifically requested by the schools and orphanages maximizes the numbers of educators we need to reach. The participants at these workshops will be required to partially pay for the course work, provide their transportation to the workshops and to pay for their refreshments. They will also be asked to provide instruction to their institutions upon completion of the course.  The degree of paid participation at these courses will indicate how well the workshops are being accepted and which areas of the countries are receiving educational training and financial assistance from the local school boards.

        International Studies:

*        University Instructors: TWI will host university and high school teachers to go to Mostar, BiH to teach two-week courses at the Bosnian University in this city.  These volunteers will teach in the spring and fall school period of 2006.

*        Scholarships Abroad: TWI will continue to provide scholarships for worthy students from Balkan countries to study at Universities abroad.

*        Balkan Tours : TWI will work with University programs to conduct "the Balkan Traveler" an educational fact-finding trip for study groups to visit the Balkans to learn about the countries, the culture of the people and to participate in TWI projects. 

*        Educational Support to Orphanages: TWI will send student volunteers for short-term work at orphanages in both Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Montenegro . We have been asked again to emphasize English-speaking instruction as a major part of our time with the children and adolescents.  These instructors are university or graduate students involved in social work and other areas of study.  These volunteers will spend extended periods at a single orphanage during the summer of 2006.

Humanitarian Support Projects:

*        Gifts for Persons of Need:  In 2006, TWI will continue to assist our Transportation Coordinator, Vahid Mimic, as he recovers from the amputation of his leg.

*        Camp/Retreat for Children with Special Needs: This camp will be conducted again in 2006.  It will be scheduled to consist of a 2-day camp at the monastery at Rama for the children and their families.

*      Learning Center for Children with Special Needs: TWI will provide funding for improvement of the Center and advice for the efficient operation of the Learning Center .

*      Day in the Park: TWI will provide a day in the park on a quarterly for children with special needs and their families at locations near Sarajevo .

Other: In an effort to reduce administrative costs we are using our home number (703-569-9213) as our TWI telephone line. We use "net2phone" for all international phone calls and use our mobile phones for long distance calls in the US . We have also changed our email ISP to twi4kids@earthlink.net.  We use our frequent flyer miles when possible to fly to Sarajevo . The Euro/dollar rate has been extremely unfavorable and has caused our project budgets to be under funded.  We must obtain additional funds for our projects, and are asking our volunteers to pay more of their costs. Please, check out our web site and give us your opinion (www.twi4kids.org). We may have to consider stopping our web site if donations are not received.

· Budget:  The Financial Report for the period January 2005 to October 2005 was approved.

The Board approved no projects for closure:

    Donate now by credit card to help the TWI Program

George M. Houser, Secretary
TWI for the Children, Inc

Updated: 2/23/2005