TWI for the Children
Success Stories

2005

This page provides information on TWI projects accomplished during 2005. These  projects included: five Training Workshops, two Education programs for orphanages, support for the Learning Center for Special Needs Children in Sarajevo, a camp for special needs children and their families, scholarships for Balkans young adults and, five Camp to Kids teams working with more than 2,500 children.  

TRAINING WORKSHOPS 2005

During 2005, TWI hosted two very successful Training Workshops in Bosnia and Herzegovina, two workshops in Kosovo, and a workshop in Albania. These Training Workshops consisted of one-day workshops at 14 different towns.  The Workshops provided instruction and materials to more than 1,000 teachers, directors and Ministers. Training the Trainers provides a significant multiplier impact on the educational systems in these countries.     

          March 2005 Training Workshop- Kosovo: 

On  March 19, 2005, the TWI training consultant from London, England, Mrs. Bonnie Miller, conducted a seven-hour educational seminar at the Hotel Palace in Mitrovica, Kosovo in which 160 teachers and school directors participated.  The presence of directors (school principals) was vital in enabling schools to improve their “climate” and to introduce school-wide innovations. Morning themes included teacher-student relations, active and engaging methods of instruction, and a relevant curriculum for the 21^st century.  Discussion of the child as a whole person with unique talents and as a world citizen contributor to the future included the topics of emotional intelligence, life skills such as communication and conflict resolution, and participatory abilities for living in a democracy. The afternoon session concentrated on children with learning disabilities and attention problems and how to identify these students and help them in the regular classroom.  The importance of parent-teacher communication was also emphasized.

On March 20, 2005, sixty high-level Ministry of Education administrators from all areas of Kosovo came to Pristina to learn innovative ways to make their school systems more child-friendly and relevant to the needs of students of Kosovo.  Participants included the Deputy Minister of Education, all seven regional directors of education, and heads of curriculum, professional education, inspectors, and special education as well as university professors.  

5, Training Workshop - Bosnia: 
 April Training Workshops in Bosnia:

From April 10 – 15, 2005, Mrs. Bonnie Miller, presented training workshops for more than 300 educators.  The three seminars for teachers and pedagogues (school counselors) covered the regions of Sarajevo , Ilidza and Tuzla cantons.  In addition to general information about active and interactive methods for teaching students, the seminars concentrated on the needs of children with learning disabilities and attention problems and how to identify and help them in the regular classroom.  The importance of parent-teacher communication and teamwork was emphasized and resource materials were provided.

   June 2005, Training Workshop-Albania:  
June Training Workshops in Albania:

TWI for the Children partnering with Plan-Albania presented two seminars for educators and professionals on June 13 and 14, 2005 at the Rogner Hotel in Tirana.  The two seminars, presented by Mrs. Bonnie Miller, consisted of 70 school directors from the areas where Plan-Albania works (mostly in northern and border areas of Albania ).  The morning session focused on the challenges of educating children for the 21^st century and discussed how schools can address the needs of the whole child--intellectual, social and emotional needs.  The workshop provided instruction for using active methods to make learning relevant to students’ lives and offered ideas for creating a positive school atmosphere that encourages children to meet their full potential.  The afternoon concentrated on ways to identify and help children with “Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficit Disorder”.  The importance of parent-school cooperation was stressed, including specific techniques to improve communication.  The seminar ended with an exercise in which the school administrators discussed among themselves the next step:  how they will share what they have learned in the workshop with the teachers they supervise and how they will adapt their schools to make them more responsive to the needs of children.  

The second day’s seminar consisted of representatives of NGOs, Ministry of Education personnel, teachers, Plan employees, and others interested in helping children with special needs.  The workshop focused on learning, social, and emotional problems and needs of children with Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficit Disorders. The workshop offered suggestions for helping these children at school and at home.

   
October 2005 Training Workshops in Kosovo:

TWI for the Children in partnership with the Center for Promotion of Education (QPEA) presented three workshops in Kosovo.  On 1 October, a seminar/workshop was presented in Gjilane, Kosovo to 160 teachers and school principals. On 2 October, a workshop was presented in Ferizaj, Kosovo to 100 principals and Ministers. On 3 October, a workshop was presented in Pristina, Kosovo to University students. The seminars presented by Mrs. Bonnie Miller sought to improve the psychosocial functioning of schools, to create a safe, supportive and motivating environment for all students, and to provide in the frame of the school some basic educational and psychosocial assistance to children with special needs. The goal was to protect and promote children's well-being in the school environment in general and to contribute to the social reconstruction and development of the country. 

 October 2005 Training Workshops in Bosnia:

During the period October 10 – 14, 2005, Mrs Bonnie Miller continued to lead a series of Train the Trainer, LD/ADD workshops at three new locations – Vares, Orasje and Doboj in Bosnia and Herzegovina . This workshop series follows-on to the TWI for the Children Spring series of workshops to bring instructional methods and instruction to identify and help children with Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficit Disorder to teachers, directors and caregivers in Bosnia .  The importance of parent-school cooperation was stressed, including specific techniques to improve communication. 

• Click Here: to read an interview with Mrs. Miller on Attention Deficit Disorder.

Click Here to learn about our past Training Workshops in 2004.

Return to Success Stories

CAMPS TO KIDS 

The 2005 Camp to kids Project:

 

TWI for the Children together with our partners from the New Jersey Lutheran Synod hosted "Camps2Kids at schools and  orphanages throughout Bosnia and in Montenegro during the summer of 2005. These teams collectively went to 18 schools in towns throughout Bosnia; four orphanages; and conducted camps for two centers for persons with special needs. These teams provided camps to more than 2,500 children during the summer of 2005.

          During the summer of 2005, TWI expanded this project to three Camp2Kids teams by organizing a split-camp team within the New Jersey Synod group in addition to the TWI Team. These teams took camps to more than 2,500 children during June and July 2005. The New Jersey Teams concentrated on taking the one-day camp to schools in Bosnian villages while the TWI Team worked with orphanages, children with special needs as well as with selected schools.  The New Jersey team, consisting of 23 volunteers formed in two-teams, conducted camps at schools in Banja Luka, Kozarac, Sipovo, Visoko, Foca, Gorazde, Potoci, Gradacac, Donja Mahala, Brcko, Jajce, Gorazde,   Sipovo Mountain School,  and a school in Sarajevo (Vojkovici). The New Jersey Team also held a two-day retreat at the “House of Peace” in Rama.  The TWI team hosted camps at the Ilidza school in Sarajevo , a school at the Rama village and in the Republic of Srpska town of Trebijne ; a camp for children with special needs in Srebrencia; a two-day retreat camp for childen with special needs and their families at Rama; camps at orphanages in Zenica and Sarajevo and extended-stay (two-day) camps at orphanages in Mostar and Montenegro.

 

During each camp day, our TWI  teams provided a fun-filled day of games, stories, crafts, and dance. Lunch was provided to each child along with caps, name tags,  toys and gifts.  Sports equipment was left with each of the schools visited. 

 

In July 2005, TWI received an invitation from UNESCO to provide two teams of ten teens each to attend their camp in Greece . TWI sent a team from Kosovo organized by the “Center for Promotion of Education” (QPEA) and a team from Bosnia organized and led by Vjeko Saje . These teams represented the diversity of these regions and served to promote reconciliation among the people of the Balkans. 

CLICK HERE to review the TWI "Camps to Kids" experience in 2004.

CLICK HERE to return to Camps to Kids page.

INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

Educational Support to Orphanages

 

 Educational Support for Orphanages:  This project, which partners an American university student with a Bosnian University student, sends volunteers from the United States to the Balkans to work with children in orphanages in Bosnia and in Montenegro.  Volunteers provide elementary instruction in the English language and help the children with their school studies. Instruction is provided and integrated with crafts, computer instruction and games.  Classroom instruction is not part of the project. In 2005, TWI sent three volunteers to work with orphanages.  Volunteers were from Universities in Tennessee , Virginia and Michigan . These volunteers were partnered with three Bosnian University students.  These volunteers and their Bosnian partners worked from May 17 – June 18, 2005 at orphanages in Mostar, Bosnia and Bijela, Montenegro.  The success of this project can best be assessed by the improvement in grades achieved by the children at the orphanages.

 

Click here for information on the Education for Orphanages Project in Mostar in 2005. 

 

Click Here for information on the Education for Orphanages Project in Montenegro in 2005

 

Click Here for information on the "Education for Orphanages" Project in 2003

SCHOLARSHIPS ABROAD

Scholarships Abroad: 
In 2005, TWI for the Children provided funds to two students for their continued University education in Greece and one student to complete his education in Sarajevo for the 2005-2006 school year. Two of the students are from Bosnia and the other is from Kosovo. These students must maintain above average grades as well as demonstrate continued leadership ability.  The aim of the project is to return future leaders of quality to their countries.  

 

HUMANITARIAN SUPPORT

Learning Center for Children with Special Needs

  Learning Center :  
In 2004, TWI for the Children, Inc.  stopped its funding for the Learning Center for Children with Special Needs in Sarajevo , Bosnia due to lack of funds.  In 2005, the “ Learning Center ” now registered in Sarajevo as the Association of mothers with children with special needs “Joy of Life” made Training Workshops International (TWI) for the Children, Inc. a member of their Advisory Board, serving as educational advisors for their children, teachers and parents. In this capacity, TWI for the Children, Inc. helped organize projects for teachers, caretakers and parents that teach such topics as how to work with children with disabilities, learning disorders, attention deficit disorders, trauma, drug and alcohol prevention and ways parents can work with their children in the home.  The Learning Center sought financial assistance to increase the size of their facility and to improve their program by developing a musical activity for the children with special needs. TWI for the Children, Inc. provided musical instruments for this program and financial support to allow the Center to increase its physical plant and instructor base. 

     Musical activities now include providing time for song, choosing favorite tunes, using visual aids, repeating the melodies and dancing. Drew Morrisroe, a TWI volunteer, provided a musical keyboard and lessons to the children. 

    Children with special needs learn about boundaries by performing and becoming aware of their freedom. They build awareness of their purpose in society by studying with typical kids and learn to love to study and think independently. They realize various ways of expressing themselves, and how to love and receive affection.

 

 

Click here to learn more about the "Learning Center for Special Needs Children in Sarajevo".

 

Camp for Children with Special Needs

 

Camp for Children with Special Needs:  In July 2005, TWI for the Children, Inc. hosted 46 Children and their families to a weekend retreat and camp-time at a monastery at Rama in the mountains of central Bosnia .  This is the fourth year TWI has been able to provide this project to these families. At this camp/retreat, families and their children with special needs swim, play games and participate in a day of camp activities. Meals and transportation are provided as well as excellent accommodations. The families look forward to this activity each year.

 

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