Group of international volunteers are coming to Serbia today to clean woods around Trsic from the garbage

The workcamp is a joint initiative of several local partner organizations working together on introducing the spirit of volunteerism and developing and improving rural and eco-tourism in Trsic (www.kamp-trsic.org.rs). The goal is to educate local people and motivate them to be active citizens in preserving the nature and other values for the sake of generations to come.
Volunteers will spend the time together from 18.6. to 30.6.2012 by cleaning the woods from garbage, clearing the vegetation, placing resting wooden benches, making and placing info boards, marking the walking paths which are connecting Vuk Karadzic’s house (the reformer of the Serbian language in 1850s) and 5km distant XIV century Tronosa monastery.

Great job to be done at one of the workcamps of the 30th Alliance Anniversary Campaign! http://allianceanniversary2012.blogspot.cz/

We build our community, we build our lives
Having recognised lack of opportunities and mechanisms for young people from different ethnicities to interact and actively and jointly participate in shaping and developing their society, a multiethnic group of 38 young volunteers (Serbs, Roma and Albanian) involved in the project Youthbuild Serbia, implemented by Civic Intiatives have identified the project "Building ramps for people with disabilites” as an immadite priority in the municipalities of Presevo and Bujanovac in South Serbia in order to overcome “environmental” barriers that people with disabilities experience, to make full integration into society. Hence, Youth Build volunteers built 11 ramps for people with disabilities in front of public institutions such as Health Center, municipality buildings, schools, court, social walfeare centers etc.
These young people have managed this project by mobilizing local resources and around 20 local comapnies have contributed financialy and in kind to help consutrucion of the ramps.

In Feb 2011 I found a Volunteer request in my "Volunteer opportunity alert" from balacalara.org, to support this project in developing a website. As I run my own server in the net this was exactly what I was looking for so I contacted the founder and got involved.

We collect used computers, locally in Azerbaijan, prepare them with a self remixed linux operating-system and what we call EDUtainment content: educational and very entertaining software and donate them to orphanages, refugees and pre-primary schools for kids to learn while playing; learn while having FUN!
The whole project relies on volunteers from all over the world. For example a project manager from the US, a web-developer from Saudi Arabia, the founder from the Netherlands, me - the server admin - from Germany, a linux specialist from Serbia and a lot of volunteers from Azerbaijan doing the concrete work on collecting, installing and shipping the PCs.

It's amazing to volunteer in such an motivated group and getting things done.

Jörg

I was volunteer- teacher in a small town in Serbia (Valjevo). No story of saving lifes, truly.

But right here in Europe are problems as well.

I managed to widen the horizon of several pupils a bit. I tried to teach media an intercultural competences besides German.
Serbia was in the past an sometimes still is, isolated and the people, especially those who do not live in Belgrade, have adjusted to this. Most of the teenagers see no perspective, school, expensive universitiy an afterwards? "I won't get a job anyway". I treid helping them to think outside their box, so that Serbia can developing.

My greatest achievment was maybe that I made a movie with a boy, who stuttered. He was 16 years old, learned german for only two years and did bearly dear speaking in front of others. The movie we made is about how it feels to live in an smalltown in Serbia for some people, the voice you hear the whole time, reciting german poems- is his. (The movie: http://vimeo.com/40929835)

At the premiere he stood with a microphone in his hand in front of maybe a hundred people an thanked me (in german) for helping him to speak in front of people.