YMCA in Kosovo Blog

A short but memorable visit... This month August 2019 the YMCA celebrated its 175th birthday, which was held in London. We volunteered at this 4-day event, where our goal was to represent Kosovo and tell about our work at the YMCA. Dea with YMCA Kosovo delegation at the YMCA 175 In addition to participating in the workshops, we also had the honor of leading our own workshops, sharing our culture with other people. Not only did we share our culture, we also got to know many other cultures from around the world, where we also had the opportunity to make friends with other young people who were part of the event. Dea with her new friend  And finally, we took a stroll through London visiting some of the many tourist sites and museums. Dea with YMCA Kosovo Delegation visiting London

A trip to London… The journey we undertook had a purpose: Attending the YMCA175 event, where we as a delegation from Kosovo had the honor of sharing the beautiful work of our youth with the world, how they help the community, empower youth and how it has impacted and continues to impact, influence. The YMCA is a place where young people can make a difference and feel valued in their community. Diona with the YMCA Kosovo Delegation in the YMCA 175 event I am fortunate to have the honor and privilege to be part of leading one of the many workshops of that event where I had the opportunity to share our culture and the role of young people from my country in empowering youth and changing socializing with people who were eagerly attending and involved in the session we had prepared! Diona during her workshop  Also, during this time I had the opportunity to participate in various workshops where I had the opportunity to get to know a large number of people from all over th...

Hello everyone. I’m Inesa Nikoliqi and I have been part of YMCA Kosova since 2015. Being part of   YMCA Kosovo has given me the best experiences for these years, I learned how to change things for good starting from myself to my society. Inesa with her friends  I started from Leadership training to a lot of other trainings like Y Woman, SDG, Scouts,  etc. And now I’m a Peer Trainer of a Leadership group. So being part of these groups YMCA gave me the chance to visit YMCA France to meet new people and let me know about different cultures from different places. Inesa during the activities in YMCA France camp We have been trained on the topic of "Integration of Migrants in Europe" , where through discussions, different activities and games we have learned about the migrants' struggles and how difficult it is for them to leave their country because of the wars, schooling or the economic reasons. Inesa and her friends at the European Counci...

When I first found out that I was chosen to go to London for YMCA 175 I was too excited, not only because I was going to London but also it was my first time in an airplane and my first time in an international event with YMCA. As days went by, the 3rd of August finally came. After a day of traveling, we saw our self in London. I still couldn't believe it. For the event, we had to take part in different workshops that were held by different countries around the world. We also had to lead a workshop "TenSing in a new country" which was on the last day of the event. The first day was amazing... It was the opening of the event where our ambassador Florent Abrashi sang some amazing songs, creating a wonderful atmosphere. The second day went great. Jora with Era, Dea, and Diona at YMCA175  I took part on workshops about wellness, leadership, and inclusion, which made me learn a lot about those topics and I’m happy that I can share that knowledge with our yout...

I’m Adea Pantinaj, 15 years old from Peja, Kosovo. I was the only girl in the group when I registered which is why I felt a little lonely. Through time, I realized that, no matter how or what, I have a right to express myself and I don’t have to feel lonely, and also that YMCA doesn’t differentiate between any age, gender, religion, race, etc.  Adea and her friends during their activities When I’m at the YMCA I feel like I’m home. I’ve had some very lovely experiences in the organization, including the chance to try different kinds of art.  I feel good every time I’m at the YMCA Peja center, and I always look forward to the next sessions as I have a lot of fun learning and hanging out with the friends I’ve made there. Everybody at the center is friendly which makes every session even more attractive. Right from the start, I learned a lot of things that nobody even mentioned in school, yet every individual should know. Besides this, I learned a lot of things ab...

Hi everyone, I am Elion Brada! A 16 year old youngster from Peja enrolled in the first year of high school, studying for natural sciences in “Bedri Pejani” Gymnasium. Today, I would like to share with you my journey within the YMCA, to be honest, it is not a long one, but truly saying it has been a wonderful experience for me and it still continues to be so. The first time I heard for the YMCA it was through my sister, when she was my age she joined YMCA as a volunteer too, recently, she become a board member. Within the YMCA she not only had the chance to learn new things, gain experience in leadership, but she also made new friends and visited places. Seeing her engagement within this organization, the things she and her peers were doing for the community, I decided to follow her path and join the YMCA.  Elion with his YMCA membership When I first started I have to say that I was a bit unsure if I really wanted to be part of this organization, moreover I was scared ...

Hello, I am Elsa and I am 15 years old these two years has taught me more than I ever expected.  Elsa with her trainers My adventure at the  YMCA has been with a lot of surprises. First, the YMCA for me was a place to spend time, do something out of my routine. And now day after day, session after session, it became something else, it gained a deeper meaning, it became one of the places that I could not wait to go and learn how to deal with yourself and others. Elsa during her activities What I learned during my time at the YMCA is that you can be a really good leader. For me the YMCA is just like a compass, it directs you to the right and good things and the important part of this is the journey that we go through. Elsa and her friends with their Leadership Program Certificates The best thing for me is having the opportunity to become a trainer for the Leadership Program. Finally, I got to do something I really enjoy and that helps me with m...

I’m Vullnet, being part of the YMCA have been one of the best parts of my life. Not only did I make new friends meet new people, but I changed a lot in a good way. For me, as a young man was a great opportunity to show my self, to speak up, to talk about my dreams, to say what is it in my mind without having the fear of judgement, which helped me to travel from my introvert self to an extroverted me now. Thanks to the YMCA.    Vullnet volunteering at Question Time event I was part of many programs here at the YMCA. Starting with the Leadership, Ten Sing (Art Group), Scouts, YWoMen etc. All of them were special to me. After finishing one, I was always felt the content had challenged me and changed how i think and feel about certain things, like a new person inside. Besides learning new things, I had the chance to liver those new things, the topics we have worked on have taught us how to stay strong in life, how to deal with ourselves as adults. But the most wonderf...

My second family: YMCA Many people tell us how a home isn't always a four walls building, isn't always just our family by blood, but home is where the heart is. Where you feel good with the people around, what you give and what they give... That's what YMCA offers you: A second home, to spread your most beautiful self, around beautiful people. Idea and Arianit during their Scouts training I've been part of the YMCA for a couple of years now, and I have enjoyed every second of it. I have been part of many programs, trainings, where I had so much fun, but one that I'll always love is the "Mental Health" program. It has taught us so much how to control our emotions, face our fears, and stay in peace with ourselves. It helps us, as teenagers, to understand that there is nothing wrong to not know what you're feeling most of the times, and to help us grow healthy. Idea and her Peer trainer Liridon with their Leadership Group  T...

My name is Erza Hakaj, I am 16 years old from Decan. I joined the YMCA last year and I learned many different topics that belong to the Leadership program, through them we have developed our YMCA and it has become an open door that has offered me and many young people the space to do activities, games where each of them has a powerful message to us that we will remember during different stages of life. Erza Hakaj  I've been part of TenSing program also where I've challenged myself in different fields of art. The reason why I chose the YMCA is that we are all equal when we have a week of overloading a place like the YMCA enables us to entertain and express what we think without fear of judging us, we have the right to do whatever we want including what we need. Erza and her friends in the Leadership Program  Through my training I got the skills and confidence to become a Peer Trainer, the YMCA has given me this chance and now I have my own team to lead, I be...

No wonder all my relatives live in Switzerland! – by Ari. Hey guys, I’m Ari and I’ve been a volunteer in the YMCA for 3 and a half years now. I joined the YMCA to have a place where I can hang out with my friends, but little did I know that I was starting a life journey that would shape and nurture me as a leader and person! Week by week I was taught and challenged with incremental tasks that promoted good values; I was pushed towards independence gradually, and when the time came, I was given the opportunity to travel and represent my country in Switzerland!  The day came when we had to set off. Luckily our flights were a breeze and we didn’t have any problems while traveling. We first set foot in the beautiful city of Geneva and had a few spare hours to stroll around the vast city. Wandering through Geneva, I was continuously reminded of how small we actually are, and how there’s an endless world waiting to be seen and marveled. The streets, the people, the stores, the bu...

Hello!   I’m Drilon Rogova, an 18-year-old boy who has experienced a lot because of YMCA. I`m a part of YMCA   for 5 years now and each year was better than the other.   YMCA have many programs that I have participated such as “Move” (tensing), the first group I ever joined in YMCA, and then followed by Leadership program (4 levels), Y WoMan, Ten Sing (singing, dancing, drama, video making, painting ), Scouts, SDG training and much more . Hello! I'm Drilon I have been a leader of a leadership group for 3 levels which gave me knowledge on how to be a good leader and the first singing group on YMCA when we gave two successful performances at the Tensing showcase. YMCA helped me gain my self-esteem, talking in public, giving speeches, making new friends etc. I also won the award for young volunteer of the year 2017. Past President Milot gave 'The Young Volunteer of the year' award to Drilon YMCA also gives opportunities to young people ...

This time for the Roots for Reconciliation project I headed to Budapest with 35 young people from 17 countries. A wonderful week full of study sessions, workshops and presentations from brighter minds which I'm thankful for.  The main goal was to bring and find peace spreading it through a campaign and social media. Fiona and other participants in the P.E.A.C.E training  An old man once said: "The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old but building the new"... and that is what we did. Round-tables surrounded by minds thinking independently together, that I'm sure made all of us come to a solution "Peace is our gift to each other". Fiona and her group presented their ideas It was my second time training with RFR, and I'm honored to say 'It changed my way of thinking'. The skills we get to learn do not end there... with yourself, then pass it down and spread the message in our countries. ...

My name is Lira Shabi ,I’m 19 years old and I come from Peja, I joined Y MCA 3 years ago and I’ve been part of Leadership training also I’ve been a peer trainer and an Youth ambassador. Lira during her SDG Training After hearing that there will be another training in my city about SDG   I was very happy because , I would be even more engaged in YMCA. I have   the right to say that I haven’t heard about SDGs before and about their function in the world . After my training, I was filled with a lot of knowledge about the goals of United Nations to stabilize the world in different aspects and in many areas. Each of the areas of the SDG has it’s importance. During the training we focused more on the education field because it is one of the main problems affecting the Kosovo state because of the results shown in the research conducted by Pisa also a lot of illiteracy in Kosovo. Training was done in different ways and  it  was very creative, those things made ...

 Know your limits, but never stop trying to exceed them My experience at the YMCA in Kosovo Drenusha representing YMCA at CiviKos I have clearly in my mind the first day I came at the YMCA. I was called from my friend just for one day to accompany her, but I did not imagine that I will be a part of it, finding my space to share my opinions, feelings and expand my knowledge. At the beginning I did not know too much for the YMCA. I thought that it was just a youth center that do activities, games and stuff like that. After a month I can say that my point of view changed for better. The way I thought, the way I spoke and the way I communicate with other people. I have learned even more which are the problems that youth face with them. For one year I finished two levels of leadership and took part on world challenge “Move”(cup song), where I met new friends, new leaders and of course two important people Dorina and Adi. They always encourage and inspire us to not giving up...

My name is Diellza Muriqi. I come from Peja and I am currently studying at UWC Adriatic in Italy. I joined the YMCA in 2015 when it came to my city and opened the leadership program. Teamwork, breaking stereotypes and prejudices, and critical thinking were among the things I learned throughout my experience at the YMCA, and from that point on, I created an inseparable link to this organisation. I finally had the chance to come back to this place, and along with 4 of my international friends who also study at UWC Adriatic, I led a session about gender equality.  The idea lead a gender equality session came as a result of the current situation in Kosovo and the lack of information about this issue. However, in Gjakova we encountered a different reality. It did not take long to notice that we were dealing with students who respect others’ opinions, have a great sense of critical thinking, and have indeed discussed about gender equality before. Stephanie (Canada) and Leone (Belgium)...

The first time at the YMCA, I didn’t have a clue what it was, what happens and I don’t know what made me to continue the training... it was just a feeling that kept me.  Fiona is a Youth Ambassador There is no where or better yet there is no other place that makes me feel myself. The motivation that I get every time I enter the organization, I feel safe. I know there are people there who protects my rights. Fiona and her participant during Leadership Training I had a lot of problems to express my thoughts, being a ‘"peer trainer" has helped me a lot! I even trained two groups of young people who were successful and completed the three levels of leadership training. Leadership training The first time I meet an international person was at the YMCA, the first time I traveled abroad was with the YMCA, the first time I flew on an airplane was with YMCA, everything I started YMCA helped me make it possible. I found myself here, considering that I...