Blog

Kosovo Youth Volunteer Blog by Durim

Jul 06, 2010

My Name is Durim Jupa, and I am 18 years old. I come from Gjakova, Kosova. I graduated from High School this year in natural science.

During the wartime I was 7 years old, and I remember when Serbian soldiers came and told us to leave our apartment or they were going to kill us, so my family and I moved to Albania. After we left they burnt our home and they killed some of our neighbors, two of which were my classmates– that was the first year of school for me.

And there are many more bad memories of the war that we try not to think of, but try to move on with life.

After the war my teacher told me about the Shropshire Music Foundation.  I was 8 years old when I joined, and I joined the program because I liked music.

I stayed as student for 4 years and then I became a Volunteer in 2004, when I was 13 years old.

I became a volunteer because when I was a student this program helped me a lot– in  music education and also to become a better student in school.  Also I feel a lot better when I know that I am helping others and I find this program a great way to help other kids in Kosovo in the way that the program has helped me.

As a volunteer I teach kids and I train other volunteers to teach and be nice to the kids, learn more music, and I am also responsible for some of the leadership work in the Program.  I work for about 20 hours during the school year and 40 hours during the school break.  This summer I am in charge of our new program at the village Skivjan.

This program is very important to me. It helped me to be more responsible, become closer to others in a social way, to love kids even more and want to help them more, and to become nicer to others around me. It is also important for the kids because it helps them to be friends to each other and to learn peace through music. Even if they are not very talented in music, they still find that want to continue more, because we create a good and safe environment for them where they feel very good.  We want them to know how important they are and that we care for them.

In the future I plan to continue with university studies.  If I have a chance I would prefer to continue my studies in the USA for a better education and better opportunities for me, my family and my country. I would also try to always be part of the Shropshire Music Foundation wherever I am.  My grade point average for high school is 4.9 out of 5.

[Note from Liz: Durim is a wonderful, honest, and hard working young man who helps our program more and more every year.  If anyone would like to help him to go to college in the US, please contact me through the link on our website http://www.shropshirefoundation.org/contact-us/]