Balkan Sunflowers- Kosovo

Once again, as is the very nature of this trip, I have been too busy to write for a few days, and already there are a million new things to discuss. It is incredible the people you meet, and the relationships, and emotional connections that can develop in such a short space of time.

We are currently in Sofia, Bulgaria, and have spent the last couple of days with the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, who are nothing short of inspirational, and Yana Buhrer Tavanier, our contact person there has been an absolute pleasure to spend time with. I will, however, for now focus on our time with the Balkan Sunflowers in Prishtina, Kosovo, which was equally incredible.

Kosovo, is a name many people still associate with conflict, and indeed many Kosovans still feel that outsiders consider it to be a war zone, despite more than 10 years having passed since the conflict ended. Prishtina is, however, far from the dangerous, unfriendly place people wrongly consider it to be, and is rather full of positivity, progression, and genuine kind heartedness.

Balkan Sunflowers have existed in Kosovo since 1999, initially being setup to support refugees. Today, their focus is largely on minority groups, and in particular children from minority backgrounds. Once again, a lot of their work was focussed on supporting Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities, and helping to establish and development real communities, with education at their core.

We visited a couple of the settlements where they had educational projects to supplement existing school studies, and were hugely encouraged by what we saw. In Bosnia, the Roma communities we visited were largely undeveloped, and with no real sense of development. Here, however, there was a real sense that sustainable development was in place, and it was fantastic to see the results of a generation of work, with many Roma children now taking on the role of teacher.

The other impressive thing about Balkan Sunflowers work was their innovation. Since the very beginning, they have been hugely focussed on offering volunteer placements to people from all over the world, to create and establish programmes to support integration, awareness, and education within the communities. Such projects have included, Roma Film Festivals, environmental projects, recycling projects, and many other wonderful initiatives, all with a firm focus on creativity.

Rand and his team were hugely welcoming and positive, and each and every person we met associated with BSF was a delight to be around. Special thanks has to go out to Rand, Petrit (Junior), Muhamet, Kafu, Millica, Kushtrim, Arta, Lara, and the Roma film boys. Also big up to Big Petrit for fitting our car stereo!! An absolute legend!!

Kosovo is a wonderful place with wonderful people, there are still many issues, as you would expect with it being Europe's youngest nation, however it is positive and progressive, and I certainly felt a real sense that it has firm foundations to become a thriving EU member state in the near future. With the support of Balkan Sunflowers, also I feel extremely positive about the potential growth, development, and integration of the Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities population in Kosovo, over the coming years.

Photos to follow