TWI
for
the
Children
Letter to Team Volunteers
This page provides a personalized letter to new volunteers going to the Balkans with TWI for the Children to take part in our projects helping children in this region of the world. We want to provide additional insight into what team members can expect from their work in the Balkans. This page provides our expectations and a brief summary of our projects in the Balkans.
Dear Friend:
TWI
for
the Children wants you to know about our
organization and better
understand what we do to help people in the Balkans. We trust this
letter will provide some insight into what you can expect in Bosnia and
from your work in Bosnia.
I know that you and your families may have concerns pertaining to the feelings people in this part of the world may have about America -- they love you and they are waiting for you!!
I have visited the places where TWI will work. I met teachers from the schools and orphanages at these towns. They want me to tell everyone that the children can hardly wait for "the van to pull up in the front of the building"!!! So get your arms ready for hugging, your bodies ready to be hugged and your energy built up so that you can last through it all.
I want to tell you something about TWI "Training Workshops International" for the Children, Inc.
Background:
"TWI for the Children's" work in Bosnia and Herzegovina began in 1996 when I participated in a fact-finding trip sponsored by Mercy Corps International. The fact-finding group arrived in country in mid-November 1996 soon after the end of the war. Although I had watched the war on TV, it was another thing to see it's effects first hand. It changed our lives. Following this trip my husband and I decided that our years in the military and our Christian up-bringing had prepared us for the "second part of our lives". After much prayer and conversations with our children, we decided to dedicate ourselves to working with children in the Balkans
Early Camp to Kids Activity:
From the time "TWI" started it's first projects in 1997, there has been no stopping our work in the Balkans. Our first request for help came from the director of the orphanage in Zenica. We were asked to do something to bring back the childhood the children had lost because of the war. In 1997 we worked with about 140 children at the orphanage in Zenica and over 300 children at a school in Gradacac. AND, there were only five volunteers on our first team - plus four Bosnian team members. As you can imagine, we were overwhelmed! But the children loved us and the caretakers in the orphanage and the school teachers helped us in our work. As we met with the directors of orphanages and schools after each camp, we discussed how to best help in the future.
Expectations:
We have spent the past 13 years partnering with adults in the Balkans who have dedicated their lives to helping the children - teaching them to understand that love is needed. "TWI for the Children" feeds those children who are hungry; donates clothing to those who don't have proper clothes; and, we love each child with unconditional love - not thinking about who they are: Orthodox Christian Serb, Muslim Bosniaks, Catholic Croat, or a child from a mixed marriage. Our work plays an important part in their lives. We come to them with no bias and we give them our unconditional love.
Other TWI for the Children Projects
From these early days in 1996, TWI has grown into an organization that includes projects we had never thought about back then -- but each project deals in some manner with children. Look at our web site (www.twi4kids.org) and you will see that we also support the following projects:
The International Studies Project: (1) brought university aged students to America for short-term internship programs; (2) took American university students to provide educational support to orphanages in Bosnia and in Montenegro; and (3) provides scholarships to deserving Balkan students.
Special Needs Children:
We took disabled children from
Sarajevo and their families to a retreat in the mountains each
summer.
TWI is helping to fund a "Learning Center for Special Needs Children" in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. This Center works with children with special needs to help them adjust to normal life in the community.
The TWI Training Workshops first started as educational workshops for caretakers in orphanages. Out workshops have become an important part of our work in the Balkans. We take these workshops to selected cities and towns throughout the Balkans. The workshops are designed to meet the needs of caretakers, teachers, mental health providers, and others who work with children. Our objective is to train the educator to teach others about these subjects.
As I bring this message to a close, let me take this
opportunity to thank each one of you for taking time from your busy life
to join us and most of all for coming with us . We are so pleased that you are
joining our work and pray that your expectations will be met. We know that you
will be blessed by working with these wonderful children.
Just remember:
"All blessings are temporary so it is best to hold them in open hands. You can't enjoy a blessing held in a clinched fist."
"God removes one blessing only to place another in its place".
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Our projects are becoming increasingly more expensive. Please help by sending your tax-deductible contribution to TWI for the Children. You can now contribute by credit card. Donate now by credit card to help the TWI Program.