The Board of Directors of TWI for the Children, Inc. held its annual meeting by mail and email on 30 November 2006.

The following directors and officers, constituting a quorum of the full board, responded to the email meeting:

Bobby J. Houser, President
George M. Houser, Secretary
Lisbeth H. Willis, Board Member
Ed Soyster, Board Member
Philippe Dupont, Board Member

The following directors and officers did not respond:

Julia Warden, Board Member

Bobby J. Houser, Corporation President presided and responded to questions. George M. Houser served as Secretary of the conference meeting.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS

The Chairperson requested confirmation of officers. The following persons were unanimously confirmed in the offices shown after their names for the CY 2007:

Bobby J Houser, President
George M. Houser, Secretary

Each officer accepted his or her office.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Pursuant to paragraph 3.4 of the Articles of Incorporation, the number of Directors will be no less than three (3) or more than ten (10).

Board of Directors: The following persons have agreed to remain on the Board of Directors:

·        Mrs. Julia Warden, Director, Accotink Academy , 1633 Bennington Hollow Lane , Reston VA 20194 .  (Member of the Executive Committee of the Board)

·        Mrs. Lisbeth H. Willis, Director of Alumni, Philadelphia University , 5914B Wayne Ave , Philadelphia , PA 19144 . (Chairperson of the Executive Committee of the Board.)

·        LTG ( USA , Retired) Harry E. Soyster, 2181 Jamieson Ave., #1503 , Alexandria , VA 22314

·        Dr. Philippe Dupont, Associate Professor, The George Washington University, Foundation School of Prince George’s County, 8422 Bells Ridge Terrace, Potomac , MD 20854

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 2006 was prepared by the Secretary and filed at the Corporation Office. The 2006 projects were as follows:

Executive Summary

TWI completed the majority of its proposed projects and established new projects.  We were able to conduct camps for children in Bosnia and Herzegovina , Serbia , and in Montenegro . These camps hosted more than 3,000 children in 26 schools and four orphanages.  We hosted Training Workshops and Seminars, primarily under the tutelage of Mrs. Bonnie Miller, for educators in Kosovo , Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina . TWI reached more than 1,300 educators at 14 seminars and provided educators from each participating organization with manuals, DVDs, and handouts that could be taken with them back to their organizations. TWI provided five university volunteers for month-long work at orphanages in Bosnia and in Montenegro . These volunteers provided educational assistance to orphans in these institutions. TWI hosted children with special needs and their families to a weekend retreat/camp in a monastery at Rama in central Bosnia . We also were privileged to continue support for the “ Learning Center for Disabled Children” in Sarajevo . We have continued to help our disabled Transportation Coordinator in Sarajevo and established a new project to provide “cultural trips” to the Balkans. These cultural trips are “for-profit” and helped in obtaining funds for our projects. Upon return to the United States , a member of the cultural trip provided 10 suitcases of clothes for orphanages in Bosnia . These suitcases were taken to Bosnia by a group of students from American University . It has been a great year filled with wonderful opportunities to be of service to the people of the Balkans.

Report of “TWI for the Children” 2006 Project Activities

Camps to Children in the Balkans

TWI has been conducting camps for children throughout the Balkans for the past ten years.  Camps are conducted at schools in villages and in orphanages where children have not been able to go on vacation or have not received periods of organized camp where a combination of stories, games, crafts, song and dance are provided to teach the children lessons in geography, ethics, reconciliation, love mixed with periods of recreation, fun and game and competitions. Teachers at the schools also benefit by being introduced to new teaching techniques and methods.  Schools and orphanages benefit from gifts of sports equipment and gifts for the teachers. The children are provided gifts, crafts and lunches. In 1997, TWI began its Camp project with 5 schools and about 500 children. In 2006, TWI camp teams went to 26 schools and orphanages in three Balkan countries and worked with more than 3,000 children.

•       Camps 2 Kids 2006.   During the summer of 2006, we expanded this project to three Camp2Kids teams by organizing two teams within the New Jersey Synod group in addition to the TWI Team. These teams took camps to more than 3,000 children during June and July 2006. The New Jersey Teams concentrated on taking the one-day camp to schools in Bosnian villages while the TWI Team worked with orphanages in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, children with special needs in Sarajevo and for the first time, schools in Serbia and also in Bosnia. Our volunteers continued a five-year partnership with the New Jersey Synod Lutheran Church Teams. Many of our volunteers for the TWI Camp2Kids Team returned from 2005. The New Jersey team, consisting of 25 volunteers, conducted camps at schools in Bihac, 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, a camp for children with special needs in Srebrenica and in the “Learning Center for Disabled Children” in Sarajevo, camps at schools in Paracin and Jagodina, Serbia and in the Republic of Srpska town of Trebijne, camps at orphanages in Zenica and Sarajevo and extended-stay (two-day) camps at orphanages in Mostar and Montenegro.

Training Workshops 2006.

The TWI for the Children Training Workshop Project seeks to provide new horizons and to give educators tools to promote student self-awareness, actions and consequences, critical thinking, reasoned decision-making, civic responsibility, and adaptability in 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. Training the trainers allows us to multiply our instruction many times over and taking the instruction to the areas of need makes this valuable instruction available to many more than could be reached by using one centralized instruction location.

• March 2006 Training Workshop - Kosovo: On Saturday, March 4, 2006, Bonnie Miller, a TWI training consultant from London , England , presented a seminar for 156 teachers (mostly from primary schools) from the Gjakova area in Kosovo. Power point presentations, video, small and large group discussion, and hands-on activities were methods of demonstrating how subjects can be taught to students using a variety of approaches. The morning session covered material on accommodating children with different needs and learning styles and used active learning methods to make education interesting and relevant to children’s present and future lives.  Ways of designing classroom climates and school environments that foster children’s  learning, self-esteem, creativity, adaptability, and motivation were also topics of discussion. The section on Emotional Intelligence discussed how teachers can help children acquire crucial “people skills” such as: self-awareness, self-confidence, resiliency, coping with stress and emotions, communication, empathy, social skills, responsibility, and conflict resolution. The afternoon session focused on learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder.  Symptoms of these syndromes and their effects on academic, family and social lives of children were discussed.  Hands-on activities to simulate learning problems, videos demonstrating symptoms and teaching methods, and power point presentations were used to supplement the written materials provided for participants.  A variety of ideas were presented suggesting simple techniques that teachers can use to help children with special needs in the regular classroom.  The importance of parent-teacher communication was highlighted, and suggestions for encouraging home-school teamwork through parent-teacher conferences were presented. All participants received the following materials, especially updated for these seminars:

·        “Communicating with Children: Manual for Parents”

·        “I Can Learn” – DVD on learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder  -- one per school

·        “I Can Learn” – accompanying guidebook for teachers

·        “Connecting with Children in the Classroom:  Manual for Teachers”

·        March 2006, TWI Seminars in Montenegro and Bosnia: On March 28, 2006, Educators in Podgorica, Montenegro, were enthusiastic participants in a seminar on Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficit Disorder presented by Bonnie Miller, organized by the TWI Coordinator, Azra Saje and interpreted by Vjeko Saje. Topics included characteristics of learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder and their impact not only on academic performance but also on the child’s social and family life.  Uniqueness and temperament of children as well as their special talents were discussed.  Numerous strategies for helping these children in the classroom and for cooperating with their parents were offered in the seminar.  In addition, materials created by Bonnie Miller were distributed to each participant. Over 150 educators, pedagogical institute staff and orphanage caretakers gathered in the Capljina Municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina on March 30,2006 to participate in a seminar on Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficit Disorder.  The audience, which was evenly divided between Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats, worked together in small groups and pairs to learn about learning and attention problems in children and to discuss ways in which they will share the materials provided at the seminar and information with their colleagues at their schools and institutions.  The workshop included simulations to demonstrate how it feels to have various learning difficulties such as auditory processing problems, visual discrimination problems, and poor fine motor (handwriting) skills.  Role-playing of parent-teacher conferences gave teachers practice in using a simple and respectful protocol for encouraging teamwork between home and school.  Enthusiastic evaluations requested more of this type of seminar with dynamic presenters and hands-on participation of the audience. In Trebinje , Bosnia and Herzegovina on March 29, 2006, Bonnie Miller and the TWI team presented a similar workshop 76 educators.  In addition to the topics discussed at previous workshops, Bonnie demonstrated many activities for active learning, and the audience carried out several of their own hands-on exercises for math and other subjects.  Discussion also focused on multi-sensory learning (visual, auditory, and kinesthetic) and relevant education to help children learn skills for their future.  Identifying the strengths as well as the difficulties of children with learning and attention problems was an important part of this seminar.  As in the previous two workshops, multiple intelligences and emotional intelligence were introduced.  Parent-teacher cooperation was practiced in pairs, and ways to share the information and materials from the seminar with colleagues was also discussed in small groups. 

• Training Workshop Seminars in Prizren, Kosovo September 23-25, 2006:  Bonnie Miller returned to Kosovo to present a two-day weekend seminar to about 200 teachers and school directors from the Prizren region and 35 teachers from Albania .  Education in today’s technological and globalized era involves not only teaching the basics and specific skills in a relevant manner, but also preparing young people to be adaptable lifetime learners as the world situation and the demands of the marketplace change. In the two-day workshop, Bonnie used power point presentations, videos, simulations, hands-on activities, small and large group discussion, and role plays to introduce educators to new teaching skills.  She emphasized that it is important to help children learn through various modalities:  visual, auditory, and kinesthetic, including active learning methods. Taking into account the individual differences and needs of students, participants also discussed ways to make schools into stimulating and caring centers of learning by transforming classroom and school climates and encouraging teachers to develop nurturing relationships with their students.  Schools can be also primary sources of teaching emotional intelligence by building competencies in communication, stress management, conflict resolution, and problem-solving, skills that students will need in their adult lives. The second day’s activities concentrated on children with learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder, the program and discussed how to identify these problems in children and techniques to help them become successful learners and confident students.  The afternoon session focused on parent-teacher cooperation and how the family-school bond can be strengthened for the benefit of the student. Teachers and directors commented on the practical methods of teaching and from working together in groups to brainstorm ideas to improve the educational environment in their schools.  They tookl Bonnie Miller’s materials (parent manual, teacher manual, teacher guidebook and video on learning and attention problems, and all the power point handouts) back to their schools to share with their colleagues and to conduct similar mini-workshops for school personnel. On Monday, September 25, 2006 a holiday for university students, Bonnie presented a four-hour workshop to 125 enthusiastic students at the Faculty of Education at the University of Prizren .

•       November 2006, Training Workshop-Bosnia: 

The TWI team traveled to western and northern Bosnia for three seminars for educators in November 2006.  On November 7, 2006, Bonnie Miller presented an all-day workshop for 76 teachers, pedagogues (school counselors) and school directors (principals) in Livno , Bosnia and Herzegovina .  Topics included identifying and helping children with learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder.  Active learning methods to keep these children, as well as other students, engaged and interested in school were presented in an interactive format that included small group work, role plays, and simulations.  On November 9, 2006, the team presented a similar workshop for 120 educators in Kozarac , Bosnia and Herzegovina at “Srcem do Mira”, an NGO headed by Emsuda Mjuagic. This organization assists persons returning to this area of northern Bosnia and Herzegovina after they were expelled during the Bosnian war.  Despite Kozarac's horrific recent history during the war, this seminar brought together Bosnian Serb and Muslim educators from formerly conflict areas and tragic places like Trnopolje, Omarska and Prijedor to participate in activities aimed at helping the future generation.  On November 10, 2006, the team presented their third seminar of the week in Jajce, Bosnia and Herzegovnia for 67 educators from all three ethnicities (Bosnian Muslims, Serbs, and Croats).  Materials (teacher manual, parent manual, guide and video on learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder) were distributed to participants to take back to their organizations for further use.  Evaluations from the three seminars were overwhelmingly positive, with teachers reporting that they learned many practical techniques that can be used in their schools.

•    November 2006, Training Workshop- Serbia and Bosnia :

This final seminar series of 2006 was conducted in the Serbian towns of Paracin and Jagodina and in the village of Srebrenica , Bosnia and Herzegovina during the period 13 – 17 November 2006.  These seminars were presented by Dr. Philippe Dupont, an administrator of a school for disturbed students, from Washington DC , and Mrs. Betsy Riley, a teacher from Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . These seminar/workshops consisted of interactive work groups and lectures on dealing with drugs among students and handling disruptive activity in the classroom.  The use of these presenters allowed participants to compare their experiences with those of the presenters and to learn from their solutions to difficult problems.  Handouts were provided on seminar topics were provided to all participants to take back to their organizations.

·        Manuals and Instructional Material. 

In 2006, TWI had to replace and print new and additional hand-out materials, DVD’s and manuals to be provided at Training Workshops and Seminars.  The expense of this effort was significant, but necessary to furnish materials that workshop participants can take back to their organizations for further use.

Humanitarian Support Projects:

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

•       Learning Center:  In 2006, TWI for the Children, Inc.  continued funding for the Learning Center for Children with Special Needs in Sarajevo , Bosnia .  In 2005, the “ Learning Center ” was registered in Sarajevo as the Association of mothers with children with special needs “Joy of Life” and 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.  Funding for the Learning Center provided financial assistance to increase the size of their facility, to increase its physical plant and improve the instructor base for the children with special needs. 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 2006, TWI for the Children, Inc. hosted 51 persons that included children with special needs and their families as well as three TWI volunteers from the Educational Project in Mostar at a weekend retreat and periods of camp-time tailored for the children with special needs.  The camp/retreat was held again this year at the monastery at Rama in the mountains of central Bosnia .  This is the fifth year TWI has been able to provide this retreat 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 from Sarajevo are provided as well as excellent accommodations. The families look forward to this activity each year.

    •       Gifts for Persons of Need:  In 2006, TWI for the Children, Inc. provided support to our Transportation Coordinator, Vahid Memic, who lost his leg to cancer.  Vahid has improved marginally, but is hesitant to use his artificial leg. He helps finds drivers to provide transportation, maintains our van and helps with transportation for our projects.

    ·        Support for Orphanages:  In October 2006, a donor provided ten suitcases of clothes for orphanages in Bosnia and Herzegovina . These suitcases were taken to Sarajevo by students from American University participating in studies in the Balkans.  These winter clothes have been delivered to the orphanages.

International Studies:

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

•       Scholarships Abroad: In 2006, TWI for the Children provided funds to two students, Nedim Hamzic and Sead Halilovic, for their continued university education in Greece and one student, Nedzad Hamzic, to begin his university education in Sarajevo for the 2006-2007 school year. All three of the students are from Bosnia . These students must maintain above average grades as well as demonstrate continued leadership ability to retain these scholarships which provide for food and accommodations while in school.  The aim of the project is to provide future leaders of high quality to their country.

•       Educational Support for Orphanages:  In 2006, this project, which partners an American university student with a Bosnian university student, sent two volunteers from the United States and a Bosnian University student to work with children in an orphanage in Bosnia and Herzegovina and an American graduate student and a Bosnian university student to an orphanage 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. These volunteers and their Bosnian partners  live at the orphanages and worked from May 15 – July 26, 2006. Additionally, a volunteer and her partner provided a week-long English Language course to interested students in Gradacac , Bosnia and Herzegovnia.  The success of this project is best determined by the overall improvement in grades achieved by the children at the orphanages.

·        Cultural Trips to the Balkans.  In September 2006, TWI hosted a cultural trip tailored for a group from the United States interested in learning about Bosnia and Herzegovnia and the Dalmatian coast of Croatia .  This trip lasted for ten days and consisted of tours of Sarajevo and Mostar , Bosnia and Herzegovina and Dubrovnik , Croatia . In addition to touring cultural areas of interest in these locations, the group was provided the opportunity to see orphanages and projects that TWI sponsors in these locations. The “Cultural Tours” are “for-profit” projects and proceeds from the trip are provided to TWI.

Projects Proposed for 2007:

*        Camps to Kids in Bosnia and Herzegovnia , Serbia , Montenegro and Kosovo. TWI will continue this project with four teams. Two teams from New Jersey will provide coverage of schools in Bosnia . One team from TWI will work with orphanages in Bosnia and in Montenegro and a second team from TWI will provide camps in Serbia and in Kosovo.  TWI is coordinating with the Center for Promotion of Education in Kosovo to establish a pilot camp project for schools in that country. The TWI core group has begun coordinating the camp theme and will oversee all teams involved in the Camps2Kids projects.  Leaders selected by TWI organize and supervise their teams. Individual teams help off-set costs for lunches, transportation, interpreters, craft supplies and sports equipment for the schools they will visit through fund raising activities.

·        Training Workshops: TWI for the Children will continue providing Training Workshops by traveling to areas of need, thereby maximizing the outreach of the Seminars to instructors throughout the Balkans. Taking training workshops to train key teachers, caregivers and administrators in subjects such as learning disabilities in children, discipline, drugs, teaching strategies and other topics specifically requested by schools and orphanages maximizes the numbers of educators we are able to reach. In 2007, TWI will attempt to have the participants at these workshops partially pay for the course work, provide their transportation to the workshops and pay for their refreshments. They will also be asked to provide proof that they provided a review of the instruction receive at the seminars to their organizations upon completion of the course.  The degree of paid participation at these courses will indicate how well the workshops are being accepted and emails from participants will provide TWI with feedback on when and how well their reviews were received by their organizations. 

International Studies:

*           Scholarships Abroad: TWI will continue to provide scholarships for the four students from Bosnia to allow them to complete their 2006-2007 course of study.

*     Cultural Tours : TWI will work with interested groups to conduct "tailored tours of cultural interest". These tours will be educational fact-finding trip for groups to visit the Balkans and learn about the countries, the culture of the people and TWI projects in the Balkans. 

*        Educational Support to Orphanages: TWI will send student volunteers for a one-month work term in Montenegro . Additionally, volunteers will be sought to work at orphanages in Bosnia and Herzegovina . We have been asked to emphasize English-speaking instruction as a major part of our time with the children and adolescents.  Our volunteers are university or graduate students involved in social work and other areas of study.  These volunteers will be partnered with university students from Sarajevo , Bosnia and Herzegovina .

Humanitarian Support Projects:

*               Gifts for Persons of Need:  In 2007, 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 2007.  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 .

Other: In an effort to reduce administrative costs we use "Skype" for all international phone calls and use Skype and our personal mobile phones for business related long distance calls in the US . We use our frequent flyer miles, when possible, to fly to Sarajevo . The Euro/dollar rate continues to be unfavorable and has caused our project budgets to be under funded.  We continue to fund-raise 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).

· Budget:  The Financial Report for the period January 2006 to December 2006 was approved.

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The Board approved no projects for closure:

George M. Houser

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