TWI for the Children
Success Stories
2007

The purpose of this page is to provide information on TWI projects accomplished during 2007. These successful projects included: four Training Workshops, an Education programs for orphanages, support for the Learning Center for Special Needs Children in Sarajevo, a camp for special needs children and their families, scholarships for five Balkans young adults and, four Camps to Kids teams working with more than 3,000 children in the Balkans.  

TRAINING WORKSHOPS 2007

During 2007, TWI hosted three Training Workshops in  Bosnia and Herzegovina, four workshops in Kosovo, and three workshops in Serbia. These Training Workshops consisted of one-day workshops at 10  towns.  The Workshops provided instruction and materials to more than 900 teachers, directors and Ministers. Training the Trainers provides a significant multiplier impact on the educational systems in these countries.     

          March 2007 Training Workshop- Kosovo: 

  •     TWI presented training workshops in Kosovo during  March 2007.  These workshops provided instruction to teachers, students and educational supervisors in Kosovo.

      April 2007, Training Workshop - Bosnia
 

  •    From April 22-26, 2007, Mrs. Bonnie Miller, presented training workshops for more than 300 educators in Gradacac, Brcko and Bijeljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina.  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.   The importance of parent-teacher communication and teamwork was emphasized and resource materials were provided.

   October 2007, Training Workshop- Kosovo:  

  •     TWI Training Seminars were held in  Kosovo from October 6 - 8, 2007 to help young people be adaptable lifetime learners as the world situation and the demands of the marketplace change. In the two-day workshop,  various teaching methods were used to introduce educators to new teaching skills.  Instruction emphasized the importance of helping children learn through various modalities:  visual, auditory, and kinesthetic, including active learning methods. The instruction stressed taking into account the individual differences and needs of students. Participants 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.  The seminars stressed that 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.

 

         

November 2007 Training Workshops in Serbia

  •   November 2006, Training Workshop- Bosnia and Herzegovina: 
    During the period November 3 - 10, 2007 TWI presented Training Workshops in  Belgrade, Jagodina and Paracin, Serbia. The purpose of the training seminars was to train instructors to help young people be adaptable lifetime learners as the world situation and the demands of the marketplace change. In the one-day workshops,  various teaching methods were used to introduce educators to new teaching skills.  

 

 

Click Here to learn about our past Training Workshops in 2006.

 

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CAMPS TO KIDS 

 

The 2007 Camp to kids Project:

TWI for the Children together with our partners from the New Jersey Lutheran Synod hosted "Camps2Kids at schools and  orphanages throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo  and in Montenegro during the summer of 2007. These teams collectively went to 25 schools ; four orphanages; and conducted a camp  for persons with special needs. These teams provided camps to more than 3,000 children during the summer of 2007. Click here for camp Coordination Details and Itinerary.

 

 

 

          During the summer of 2007, TWI expanded this project to four Camp2Kids teams by organizing a split-camp team within the New Jersey Synod group in addition to two TWI teams.  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 and with selected schools in Kosovo, Serbia, Bosnia and in Montenegro.  The New Jersey team, consisting of 23 volunteers formed in two-teams, conducted camps at schools in Banja Luka, Kozarac, Sipovo, Visoko, Foca, Gorazde, Potoci, a village near Sipovo, Gradacac, Donja Mahala, Brcko, Jajce, Gorazde, Foca, Potoci,  Visoko, Srebrenica 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  schools in Sanski Most and Preijedor, Bosnia and Herzegovina ; schools in the town of Paracin Serbia; two camps in Kosovo; a school in the Republic of Srpska town of Trebijne ;  a two-day retreat camp for children with special needs and their families at Rama; camps at orphanages in Zenica and Sarajevo and extended-stay (two-day) camps at orphanages in Mostar and Montenegro.

During each camp day, our teams provided a fun-filled day of games, stories, crafts, and dance. Lunch was provided to each child along with caps, name tags,  toys and gifts.  Sports equipment was left with each of the schools visited. Click here to review the daily agenda the camp used for each "Pirates Camp".

 

Click here to read about the 2007 "TWI for the Children's" Camps for Children in Serbia, Bosnia and in Montenegro.

 

 

CLICK HERE to review the TWI "Camps to Kids" experience in 2006.

 

 

Return to Camps to Kids Page

 

 

 

INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

Educational Support to Orphanages

 

•       Educational Support for Orphanages:  This project, which partnered an American volunteer with a Bosnian University student, taught English and other subjects to children in the orphanage  in Montenegro.  The Volunteers provided elementary instruction in the English language and helped the children with their school studies. Instruction is provided and integrated with crafts  and games.  Classroom instruction is not part of the project. In 2007, TWI sent a volunteer to work for a month in the orphanages.  Our Volunteer was a graduate student from Michigan University partnered with a Bosnian University student.  This team worked from May 15 – June 29, 2007 at the orphanage in Bijela , Montenegro.  Additionally, a one-week English class was taught in the Bosnian town of Gradacac. The success of this project can best be seen by the improvement in grades achieved by the children at the orphanages.

 

Click here for information on the Education for Orphanages Project in  Montenegro in 2007. 

 

Click Here for information on the "Education for Orphanages" Project in 2006

SCHOLARSHIPS ABROAD

Scholarships Abroad: 
 In 2006, TWI for the Children provided funds to four students for their continued University education in Greece and one student to continue his education in Sarajevo for the 2006-2007 school year. All of the students are from Bosnia and Herzegovina. 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.  

Click Here to learn about our Scholarship Students in 2007

HUMANITARIAN SUPPORT

Learning Center for Children with Special Needs

  Learning Center :  
  In 2007, the “ Learning Center for Disabled Children ”  registered in Sarajevo as the Association of mothers with children with special needs “Joy of Life” used TWI for the Children, as a member of their Advisory Board, serving as educational advisors for their children, teachers and parents. In this capacity, TWI for the Children, Inc. helped fund 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 found additional financial assistance to increase the size of their facility and to improve their program by developing new activities for the children with special needs. TWI for the Children, Inc. helps by providing  financial support to allow the Center to operate its physical plant and instructor base. 

 

    

 

    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 love to study and think independently. They realize various ways of expressing themselves, and how to love and receive affection.

 

 

Click here to learn more about the "Learning Center for Special Needs Children in Sarajevo".

 

Camp for Children with Special Needs

 

Camp for Children with Special Needs:  In July 2007, TWI for the Children, Inc. again hosted 52 children and their families to a weekend retreat and camp-time at a monastery at Rama in the mountains of central Bosnia.  This is the sixth 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

Click here for information on the 2007 Camp for children with special needs.

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updated: 1/04/2008