On May eighteenth of this year, the Serbian children of Orahovac and Brestovik, two small towns in Kosovo and Metohija, received an unimaginable gift: a playground equipped with swings, slides, and teeter-totters. The playground in Orahovac hides behind a concrete-wired wall erected to protect the Serbian minority that refuses to leave a town embroiled in ethnic conflict.
Radmila Micic, a Serbian-Canadian, has been visiting Orahovac and other communities in Kosovo and Metohija for several years now, bringing financial aid and assistance to Serbian families. Installing playground equipment in impoverished and war-ravaged areas was an entirely new project for Radmila. The project, she explains, was inspired by a conversation she had with Ljiljana Radic, a schoolteacher in Orahovac, who said “my children do not know what a slide is.” It was saddening for Radmila to think that the children could not conceive of the idea of a playground. She says, “Children need to feel like children. I could not see the fun and joy of childhood in a place surrounded with walls and wires.” Initially hoping to install a playground only in Orahovac, with the assistance of the Saint Sava Serbian Language School and many other generous sponsors, enough money was raised for a playground in Brestovik as well.
Radmila’s humanitarian efforts stretch back almost twenty years. Shortly after arriving to Canada in 1989, Radmila began fundraising for Serbian people in 1992 during the Yugoslav Wars. For the past eight years, her efforts have been concentrated on the children of Kosovo and Metohija, a group that she recognizes as in most need of assistance. “I believe that if children feel that they are loved by someone other than their parents, they will be better people because they know that love and goodness exist. They will in turn learn to give and help others.”
In 2006, twenty disadvantaged Serbian youth from Kosovo were able to come on an eleven-day trip to Canada. They received dental care and visited some of Canada’s most notable landmarks and attractions: the CN Tower, Niagara Falls, and Canada’s Wonderland. Radmila and many other volunteers channeled their creative energy into theatrical performances in order to raise the money needed to sponsor the trip. The volunteer group of actors created and acted in short plays depicting the many struggles of Serbian families in Kosovo and Metohija. The shows continue to run twice a year, raising awareness and alerting others about the financial needs of Serbian families.
At least once a year, financial aid is delivered to families and children in Kosovo and Metohija. Radmila herself takes the journey to ensure that the funds are distributed to the proper recipients. She stays at the homes of Serbian families and partakes in their daily activities. For her, “It’s an opportunity to live their lives…to share their fears.” It is these direct experiences that motivate her to continue fundraising for victims of ethnic and international wars in Kosovo and Metohija. “These children need so little for a better tomorrow. I believe we can all contribute a little for that benefit.”
Edited by Lucinda Atwood
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