Situated North-east of Albania,
Kosova has always had a population with a high
percentage of ethnic Albanians. The unrest in
the Balkans over the past few years has caused
tensions to grow between the Albanians and Serbs
living in Kosova.
Things came to a head in March 1999 when 'ethnic
cleansing' caused thousands of Albanians to flee
to neighbouring states.Many were brutally tortured
or murdered and thousands of properties destroyed
over the next few months until NATO's bombing
campaign finally caused the Serbs to retreat in
the June. Within a week the ethnic Albanians flooded
back into Kosova to begin the slow and painful
progress of rebuilding their lives and homes.
Many hurts and tragic memories exist but the resilience
and determination of the people is evident to
all who visit.
During the Kosova refugee crisis in 1999 LightForce
was on the ground in Albania ready to get involved.
LightForce returned to Kosova with the refugees
and has continued to support many of them in providing
food, clothing, blankets, construction of housing,
resourcing school children and clinics. Support
was given to over 6,700 families circa 40,000
people in 1999.
Playschemes were held in local schools during
the summers of 2000 & 2001, benefiting over a
thousand children. From April-June 2001 LightForce
provided basic foodstuffs for 4000 people and
also sent 5 ton of dairy products to assist the
feeding of refugees from Macedonia.
In the summer of 2001, 130 sheep were sent to
the mountains of northwest Kosova where they have
been distributed - 10 sheep to each of 13 hill
farmers who lost everything during the war. Some
people are still rebuilding their homes & livelihood.
LightForce also donated much needed vehicles,
farm equipment, Jersey bulls & cows to assist
agricultural projects in the Kline area.
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