Our work in the small town of Gračanica has
been the longest lasting and perhaps the most rewarding. The
connections that we have made continue to this day and we look forward
to meeting with old friends again.
Gračanica.
This was the fourth summer that we held our English Summer School for
high school students in Gračanica, near Tuzla. The summer school was
under the direct supervision of Lis Garassino, a graduate of Holy Cross
College, who had been a volunteer in 2003 and subsequently spent a year
in Rumania on a Fulbright. As usual we offered three levels of English,
emphasizing writing as well as conversation. In addition, we held a
Workshop On Youth Issues two afternoons a week, and worked as volunteers
in the Smile (Osmijeh) Center for Children.
Lis
Garassino recruited two experienced teachers as volunteers: Gwendolyn
Holley, who teaches special education in the Maryland Public School
System and is a graduate student in Conflict Resolution at the
University of Baltimore, and Deanne Moore, an experienced teacher of
English Literature in Hingham, MA high school. We also had Sonia Lowman,
a 2006 graduate of Boston University in English, as well as Kevin Feeney
and Nina Catalano, both juniors at Harvard College.
This was the
smoothest year so far for our high school program—surely a compliment to
Lis and her team. I had the opportunity to visit the classes and was
struck by their liveliness. Gwen Holley’s class for beginners grew from
10 to 24 by the end of the summer, a token of her skills. Our school is
growing in prestige in the community. The mayor’s daughter and the
principal’s son, as well as the son of the local radio station announcer
all take our courses. The fact that our classes are free and open to
everybody is our strongest justification, however. I gave out 80
diplomas this year, which is ten more than usual.
Summer School in 2006
When the
American Ambassador came to Gračanica to talk with the mayor, Mr. Helić
told him about Builders For Peace and how happy he was to have us in his
community. The social interaction between our volunteer teachers and the
high school students and their families is richly rewarding for all
sides. Perspectives on life and the world are changed, as the
participants’ letters show most dramatically.
I received
many letters from the pupils begging us to come back next year. I have
promised that I will return, as have at least two of our volunteers.
Several of
our volunteers also worked at the “Osmijeh” Children’s Centre one day a
week. They played games with the children and helped with those who
have special needs. We also made our annual pilgrimage to Srebrenica,
as well as to the town of Srebrenik where we heard a lecture by the
artist-visionary, Nijaz Omerović, and sampled the greatest pastry in the
world. Tom Butler also went to a Sufi lodge in Spionica, where he took
part in the prayer ceremony (zikr).
