Helping Gjelane get to school

School for Gjelane and her friends??

As you approach Pristina, the capital of Kosova, from Peja, you will come to a very busy roundabout and taking the first exit you pass through Fushe Kosova, the 'fields of Kosova'. This is a fairly new road.....an avenue...but rather than being lined with beautiful great oak trees, like the ones in UK, it is lined with superstores. As you pass along the road in a vehicle they become a blur one by one...from beds to bookshelves...from clothes to Christmas trees....from toys to tins of tuna. Almost everyday a new one appears, and yes, many times I have visited some of them myself.

All the more strange then that when you come to the same roundabout, involving great effort.....as it is so busy...to take a left turn, the second exit, a very different road greets you. As you drive along.. gradually the shops start to disappear...and the buildings become more unkempt...'this is clearly the wrong way'...'have we taken a wrong turn'....'maybe we need to turn back.'

But if you persist with your doubts and continue on this road going to where the road seems to end; you will meet a very different community and one which could not be more different than the 'avenue of commercialism'.

For it is here that you will meet some of the forgotten people of Kosova. They are the people of the Roma, the Ashkali and the Egyptian community.

Many of these children are excluded from school because they do not meet the criteria.

At the moment.

Things are changing for these children and the people of this tiny corner of Kosova thanks to the tireless efforts of one lady, (www.elizabethgowing.com) and many others from all over the world working with her, in September these children will be starting at school.



It has been a privilege to be able to call myself one of these 'many others' and to be just a small part of helping Gjelane and her friends get to school in September.