Today we said goodbye to Prizren as we traveled northeast to Vushtrri. There, we will work with HandiKOS, a Kosovar NGO (non-governmental organization) for the next several days. The weather was already warming up quite a bit when we left mid-morning, and even the limited air conditioning on the bus was welcomed. The forecast is for hot, dry weather (in the mid- to low-90s) all week. No one here remembers a hot, dry September as this before.
As you can see from the photo, we got to the bus stop before our taxi did!
After settling in at our guesthouse and picking up a van, we headed out to Vushtrri. This is about a 30-minute drive from Prishtina. We will be encouraging and equipping the staff at the HandiKOS Centre for most of this week. HandiKOS has been given the responsibility from the Kosovar government to care for and treat handicapped children in and around Vushtrri. They also take care of some of the elderly folks (pensioners) that are also handicapped or disadvantaged. All total, HandiKOS cares for about 700 persons.
Our main task today was to get reacquainted with Isak Hysini (the director) and do five home visits. We will be visiting many of the families who received food parcels from our church at Christmastime last year. Isak was very happy to see us and we are happy to partner with him in these various projects. Before the home visits, we purchased basic food items (such as cooking oil, sugar, flour, salt, pasta, dish soap) and we included health/hygiene kits for each family. It was humbling to be in these homes; seeing they had little means but their hospitality was outstanding! The government only gives these families about $60 a month to care for these with special needs, which is a big challenge. Special thanks goes to Faith Church in Farmington, MN for making these food parcels possible. We will be distributing several more of these parcels over the next few days.
There was less of a breeze tonight, but the sunset was still beautiful. It's as if God put his signature to the closing of our day.
--Kosova Team 10
After settling in at our guesthouse and picking up a van, we headed out to Vushtrri. This is about a 30-minute drive from Prishtina. We will be encouraging and equipping the staff at the HandiKOS Centre for most of this week. HandiKOS has been given the responsibility from the Kosovar government to care for and treat handicapped children in and around Vushtrri. They also take care of some of the elderly folks (pensioners) that are also handicapped or disadvantaged. All total, HandiKOS cares for about 700 persons.
Our main task today was to get reacquainted with Isak Hysini (the director) and do five home visits. We will be visiting many of the families who received food parcels from our church at Christmastime last year. Isak was very happy to see us and we are happy to partner with him in these various projects. Before the home visits, we purchased basic food items (such as cooking oil, sugar, flour, salt, pasta, dish soap) and we included health/hygiene kits for each family. It was humbling to be in these homes; seeing they had little means but their hospitality was outstanding! The government only gives these families about $60 a month to care for these with special needs, which is a big challenge. Special thanks goes to Faith Church in Farmington, MN for making these food parcels possible. We will be distributing several more of these parcels over the next few days.
--Kosova Team 10
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