Photo By Sgt. Nevada Jack Smith | Two children participating in the youth camp play a game called Sculpture, where the...... read more read more
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CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo — At the end of a long week there is one thing everybody looks forward to...the weekend. It's what gets us through the week. Whether you're an adult, tired of work and wanting to relax, or you are a young child, sick of school and eagerly awaiting Saturday morning cartoons, everybody loves the weekend.
Mid-May some of Camp Bondsteel's Multi-National Task Force-East Soldiers, in conjunction with the Kosovo police and a nongovernmental organization called Terre Des Hommes, or "home without borders," hosted a three-day weekend youth camp for children all across Kosovo.
The children already shared one common bond with each other and the KP.
"The children's parents are either officers, or officers who passed in the line of duty," said Sgt. Bernice Robinson. "The idea was to bring children together from different parts of Kosovo, regardless of ethnicity; they all have a common bond as children of Kosovo police officers."
The children first met when they were brought to the Kosovo Police Academy in Vushtri/Vucitrn, where MNTF-E Soldiers handed out T-shirts and warmly greeted their new charges. After a brief introduction ceremony with the KP, the kids were split into groups; each working with a Soldier or Terres Des Hommes social worker.
"In my group, none of the kids go to the same school so it gives them an opportunity to mix together and learn about each other even though they don't come from the same community," said Sgt. Kristine Kirkwood, a chaplain's assistant with the Unit Ministry Team,Task Force Falcon. "Yesterday all the children met, but already they have come together like glue to really build a team."
The kids spent their Friday playing and making friends before being bused to the nearby Bijora park the next day. Once unloaded from the buses the kids split off into their groups and began playing games designed by the Terres Des Hommes workers to teach the kids valuable lessons.
"We had classes that taught the children how to resolve issues and work together."
There were three events that we worked on. In one of them you would tie two people together and they would have to work together to get out of the ropes without using their hands," said Robinson. "The key to that exercise was communication; it was a great way to teach the kids about cooperation and patience."
Another exercise involved four children; one child would direct a second blindfolded child to a kid standing in a specific pose. The blindfolded kid would have to feel how the posing child was standing and then recreate the pose after being led to a fourth participant who posed as the second model.
Every child was given a chance to play and all of the activities centered on teamwork building and cooperation.
"We tailored the games to be attractive and acceptable to the kids," said Avni Sahiti, the chief of community police in Mitrovica/Mitrovice. "Every game contained a message for the children, it told them that they can work and play together."
The history of Kosovo is full of ethnic problems, one of the main goals of the youth camp was to teach the children tolerance and show them their similarities.
"You've got kids that are Albanian, Serbian, Roma, Turkish, and they are all playing and laughing with each other," said Robinson. "It is very encouraging to see them putting aside their race and culture to just play and have fun."
After the games were over the children broke for lunch where the KFOR soldiers hosted a delicious barbecue. Once lunch was finished the kids gathered under several shaded areas that had been erected for the weekend and began receiving classes on the seven Army values.
Giving a lesson in: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity and Personal Courage, was very important to the Soldiers. The students were also given a class on first aid by medics from the Camp Bondsteel Hospital, and a class on recognizing the dangers of unexploded ordnance from explosive ordnance unit stationed at Camp Bondsteel.
All of the classes served the same purpose as the games, to teach the children.
"Kids are very moldable like clay, so if you get them at a younger age it is easier to teach them to get along," said Col. Philip Butch, the deputy commander of Civil Military Operations.
The children finished their weekend with a performance they rehearsed for the Soldiers. There was a play where the kids gave a lesson on respecting teachers, an art showing where the children showed off posters they drew to thank the KFOR soldiers, and an acrobatic performance put on by one of the KP officers. There was also a drill and ceremony show where the children showed their mastery in the seven Army values by marching for the Camp Bondsteel troops.
"When the children first arrived, they were all strangers to each other, now just two days later the kids are making friends and creating memories that will last far longer than the weekend we can give them," said Sahiti. "I hope that we can continue these activities in the future, to have KFOR working with KP in all areas of Kosovo. In doing this we can help teach the children how to cooperate better with each other, whether Serbian or Albanian, the children are our future."
With the motto "follow me, I am the future," the children left with valuable lessons to be tomorrow's leaders.
As the buses pulled out and the KFOR soldiers had packed up there was nothing left but an empty field, but even though there was no sign that the kids, KP and KFOR soldiers had been there, they would all leave with the lasting memories of a perfect weekend.
| Date Taken: | 06.16.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 06.16.2009 11:18 |
| Story ID: | 35150 |
| Location: | CAMP BONDSTEEL, ZZ |
| Web Views: | 218 |
| Downloads: | 196 |
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