The last week of June, together with a group of volunteers, we were guests of the Casa di Leskoc, in Kosovo. The Casa di Leskoc is an all-Italian operation, managed by Caritas Umbria, which has been involved in the reception and hospitality of minors in difficulty since the end of the war in 1999. Currently, 8 boys and girls live permanently in the structure, while another ten go to the House only during the day.
In the House there are many needs and things to do, and this week of volunteering was dedicated precisely to this: playing with the children, preparing breakfast for everyone, serving snacks, washing and changing the little ones, carrying out small maintenance jobs, and sorting out the warehouse supplies.
Another important role that the House plays is its involvement in the Kosovar community: in fact, there are about a hundred fragile families that are helped through the delivery of a food parcel, medicines and above all by listening to the voices of these people who sometimes live in conditions of extreme poverty.
The projects of the Valter Baldaccini Foundation in Kosovo are dedicated to the boys and girls of the House who, once they become adults, undertake paths of job placement, or continue with their studies.
In a context where access to study and work opportunities is still very low, this project is even more important, creating a future for young people who often have very complex family histories behind them.
For Yana, Luca, Giorgio, Savio and Daniele, the week spent in Kosovo was a week of corporate volunteering: to participate in this experience, they did not use their holidays, but their working hours became time to help those in need.
We offer our greatest thanks to each of them for having been able to fully grasp the essence of this trip to Kosovo, always making themselves available and helping everyone with a smile. At the end of this week, one of the volunteers said he was struck by a phrase he read on the wall of the refectory: “I searched for beauty, and I found it at the bottom of simplicity”. This is the strength of the Leskoc House, reminding us how what truly fills our lives is the simplicity of small things.
Watch the video that tells the story of our week in Kosovo.
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