VOLUNTEER’S BLOG – February 2020
Here we go again.
Welcome back to our blog about a very fast February.
And by very fast we don’t mean just because this month has fewer days than all the other months…no. In about five weeks the six months for Hannah here in Bosnia will come to an end and for Lana and Lydia, it’s already halftime. We always thought one year – that’s a very long time. Turns out it isn’t.
Anyway let’s not talk about time literally flying away but what has happened this month because trust us it was a lot.
February was very warm. The temperature was rising up to 19 degrees – so almost t-shirt weather. Therefore – the first time this year – we went outside with the kids which was really nice! Every Thursday we practice a small yoga class. This month we introduced a Zumba class. The kids are suddenly very concentrated and keen on learning the new steps.
We tried to bring in more educational workshops to the morning group. Mostly every week we have at least one day, e.g. how to properly wash the hands, brush the teeth or even how to lay the table.
We think it’s amazing how quickly the kids can adapt those small simple rules and turn them into their own daily routine.
February was also filled with international days. On Thursday, Feb. 20th we celebrated the World Day of Social Justice. Therefore we wrote a small and easy story together and built little figures/animals out of plasticine to explain the importance of equal rights.
The very next day was already the International Mother Language Day. Lana prepared a workshop for the kids where we learned more about the word „love“ in multiple languages. Hannah decided to have a discussion with the 15+ group. We had a long conversation about the pros and cons of the question if it would be better to have only one language to communicate for everyone or to keep all the different languages.
One week later on Tuesday, the 25th we celebrated the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. In the morning workshop, every girl was paired up with a boy for the two hours. They had to draw a picture for each other, they danced and sat together during the little snack break. We also tried to explain why we celebrate this day and why it is so important. For the afternoon workshop Adin, our daily coordinator, prepared a presentation and a discussion round. It was very interesting how this topic was welcomed and desired. The workshop was easily guided from one thesis to another.
We are in steady contact with a German high school professor with whom we have some exciting workshops planned. Next month Hannah will be having a presentation about the environment, especially the situation in Bosnia and a couple of weeks later Lydia will talk about the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. So stay tuned for our blog in March if you want to know more about it.
Right now we are offering a German communication workshop. So if you are interested in becoming more fluent talking German you are very welcome to come and take a look.
Even after six months we still discover new places. Adin introduced us to a new and delicious Pita restaurant (pie restaurant). We also were invited to a wine tasting, cheese plate included and classical live music. Again an event to dress up which was really nice.
Last week Hannah and Lydia went to a concert in Dom Kulture. The programme which was filled with children playing songs on the piano, the choir which prepared two songs as well and long speeches were guided by two ladies through the whole evening. But the most interesting events on this evening were the traditional dances of girls and boys age ten to twenty years. We have never seen anything like it in real life so it was something new and exciting to watch everyone dance and us listening to traditional music from the live band.
Our eco-project organized a cake sale in the downtown area to collect money in order to plant some new trees in spring. We decided to bake one cake as well and to help to sell as much as possible.
So as you can see a lot happened this month and we can promise you that there is more to come!
Thank you for reading and stay tuned for our blog in March!
Lana, Lydia and Hannah, Svitac’s (Firefly Bosnia’s) international volunteers
