Photo By Sgt. Lynnwood Thomas | U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Dalwin Giudicelli, Regional Command-East Civil-Military...... read more read more
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CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo – KFOR Soldiers from Regional Command-East’s Civil-Military Cooperation team, Kilo 3 (Slovenian Army) Liaison Monitoring Team and the Danish Army, donated winter coats, hats and gloves to the students of Ali Kelmendi primary school December 16, in Vushtrri, Kosovo.
The donations were made possible through funds allocated from proceeds of the Danish Contingent March, an event held several times throughout the year for deployed Soldiers. The DANCON raised about 4000 euros between two separate events.
“This autumn, the Danish Contingent collected some money through the DANCON March for good projects in Kosovo and Danish war veterans,” Danish Army Sgt. 1st Class Glen Poulsen said. “Today we delivered the first jackets for the money we collected.”
Faculty and administration greeted the Soldiers when they arrived at Ali Kelmendi, and they were introduced to two classrooms full of students. While the classrooms were mostly sunlit, temperatures inside were frigid – the only heat coming from small woodstoves in each room.
“They were standing in line waiting to get a jacket in their size and the color they like and as soon as they got the jacket on you could see that they were smiling, warm and really, really grateful for this donation,” Poulsen said. “They hugged us, kissed our cheeks, gave us high fives and didn’t want us to leave. It was a warm feeling as a Soldier to be part of this.”
U.S. Army Maj. Sean Higgins, RC-E CIMIC chief, said that this donation is specifically due to the time of year. Some schools in rural areas like Vushtrri struggle with heat and power to endure Kosovo’s winter weather.
“The winters are very cold in Kosovo, and the greatest need is here,” Higgins said. “Anything that we can provide them is just a small token that we care. The 30 children in this school will absolutely benefit from this donation.”
Higgins said it feels great to take part in something so significant and described the children’s reactions with a smile.
“The children were ecstatic when they saw that we were giving them winter coats, hats and gloves,” he said. “Most of the kids jumped up to give us a hug, so it was very heartwarming. It’s just the smallest thing we can do to bring some joy and happiness – especially around this time of year.”
Poulsen said that they are identifying schools throughout Kosovo to find Albanian and Serbian children who need these types of donations the most.
“The schools are selected through the [Liaison Monitoring Teams] who know these areas really well, so they know which schools need these jackets,” Poulsen said.
Shokrdrna Galici, an English language teacher at the school, said the kids can focus better on learning when they’re warm, and the fact that everyone received a coat creates a feeling of equality among them.
“The kids were very happy, and you can see it in their faces,” Galici said. “Thank you, KFOR, for everything you’re doing for the schools in Kosovo.”
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| Date Taken: | 12.16.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 01.04.2020 04:22 |
| Story ID: | 358232 |
| Location: | CAMP BONDSTEEL, ZZ |
| Web Views: | 163 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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