Mission Trip to Kosova

My name is Jessica Pollard, I'm 16 years old from South Yorkshire. I'm part of the Girls Brigade and I'm raising money for my trip to Kosova in the summer with Smile International and the Girls Brigade/Fizz team, for two weeks. Last year I went for two weeks and loved the work we did there to help people less fortunate.

In my first week, I worked with the rest of the mission team to organize and run kids clubs - this involved singing, crafts, stories and getting to know each other. One day of the week, we went and taught English to a group of children - age 5+

In the afternoons, we visited and gave aid to the widows - most of them had lost their husbands and children from the war. We also went and visited a Girls Brigade company and played games with them and led activities and crafts.

In my second week, seven of us painted a family's house. The family of 5 (A widowed mother, a daughter and 3 sons - one of them badly disabled) had no running water, only a well outside their house and only one window was filled with glass, which make the winters very cold. Although the house had a second floor, there were no stairs built, so they only had the 3 three rooms on the ground floor. It was amazing how a thin coat of paint made such a difference to them!

So hopefully, with fundraising and donations, I will get the chance to go back this year and work with another team to try and make a difference. If you could donate anything it will be greatly appreciated!