The last workshop within the project was held in the Good Neighbor Club Novi Pazar. The children experienced the last workshop in their own, emotional way, and Melissa and Anesa wanted to share their impressions with us and gave speeches at the beginning of the ceremony.
More than 900 workshops for more than 1,900 children in Novi Pazar, Sjenica and Tutin are a great success of the two-year project. However, the immeasurable result is precisely the companionship, connection and togetherness of children from the returnee population who have established close ties with children from the domicile population.
Speech by Melisa Ćorhamzić at the final workshop within the project
“Today we have gathered to share with you our creativity and our work! Within the “Reintegration” project, ecology workshops were held, and at today’s exhibition, works from all workshops were shown, through a lot of laughter, games, and fun, we learned something new, and the exhibited works were created in the same way.
During the workshops we had, we learned about children with special needs and got acquainted with various disorders within this word, and we actually learned how they arise and why they occur. We continued to listen to a lecture about them and I pulled out an important message – I realized how important it is to respect the people around us and the diversity of all the people in the world because two same people do not exist. This is important for today, and for us as well because some people are rejected precisely because of diversity.
I don’t go to these workshops for a long time and I’m sorry about that, but I have some more moments to share with you. In addition to the workshops we held at the club, we went a step further and visited mountain Golija, an unforgettable trip we had that left a deep mark on me. I also learned one important thing from this workshop – it was very difficult for us to climb the peaks and walk the paths of Golija, but we did not give up. We were committed to our goal and we believed in achieving it. On the trip, we met new plants and insects, and we also saw what the life of plants, animals, and people on the mountain looks like.
I don’t want to go on and talk about this, because it can’t be described in words or letters. That spectrum of emotion cannot be printed and transmitted on this white paper. Because all words are dead until someone lives them. I wish all of you had the opportunity to experience such beautiful moments, that laughter and positive energy that we experienced.
Today is our last workshop and I can’t say I’m happy about it. Yes, I am happy that we part with a smile and that we bring back beautiful memories, but deep down I am sad. I feel it, but I don’t show it. I’m sad, we won’t hang out for a long time, we won’t laugh and we won’t share happiness and sadness together. I would like the workshops to continue as soon as possible and to hang out as before. I will miss him and I will think every day about our reunion, and until then we will maintain the positive that we have spread!
We are glad that you were our guests today and that you visited us!!”
Speech by Anesa Ahmetović at the final workshop within the project
“I would like to share with you my experience from our workshops – I try to show you how nice it was for us in the previous year of socializing!
At these workshops, we met some new wonderful people, our lecturers, and made new friendships. These workshops not only taught us about biology and ecology, but we would also touch on other topics – how important is to really be a human. Here we were bakers, biologists, ecologists, we made jewelry and above all, we got along well.
What we learned helped us a lot in school, but also in life. We traveled together and explored on excursions, competed, won, laughed, enjoyed ourselves and we always returned home with a smile. I’m sorry we won’t have workshops for a while and most of us will be in school so we won’t see each other. But let’s hope to see and hang out again next year!”