Go Pink! ?????? ??????! Veshu Rozë!
By Meredith Gregory
Pink was the color of champions on May 17, 2009. On this
Sunday afternoon, approximately 2,000 people of all ages participated in Go Pink: Walk Against Breast Cancer, an event organized by BORKO, Integrity Alpha Omega, and the US Embassy. Among
the cities that
organized transportation
for
their participants
to the event in
Skopje
were
Tetevo, Veles,
and Sveti Nikolae. Participants
made a donation
of 100 MKD
and received a
pink T-shirt with
the event’s logo.
The event
began with an
address by the
American Ambassador, Philip
Reeker. He praised the crowd for their spirit of volunteerism
and willingness to make a stand about the need for breast cancer
awareness. Petko the Dog, mascot of the childrens’ TV show
“5+” led the crowd in a warm-up before starting the walk. The
3 km walk began in Gradski Park, continued down Ilindenska Boulevard where walkers were treated to a bottle of water,
across the Goce Delcev bridge, across the Stone Bridge and into
the city center. In the center, organizers of the event helped the
participants create a huge human pink ribbon for a group photo. Petko the Dog led the way back to Gradski Park, where the
event concluded with a concert by local Macedonian musicians.
It was such
an amazing sight
to see the crowd
of pink united
together to raise
awareness for this
important cause.
Several
pink
shirts displayed
names of family
and friends fighting the disease.
The benefits of
the event were
seen even as it
was taking place.
Curious onlookers asked walkers
what was happening, and participants gladly stopped to chat about what they were doing and
why. The event raised more than 350,000 MKD that will be
used to refurbish a chemotherapy clinic for women with breast
cancer in the State Hospital. Hopefully this year’s Go Pink
event is just the beginning of a long tradition in which the people
of Macedonia come together to support their mothers, sisters,
aunts, grandmothers and friends who are fighting breast cancer.
Adopt-A-Dog!
“Save a life, make a friend”
By Vince Drader
The “Adopt-a-Dog” event, was a SPA project and was previously named the “Animal and Pet Rights Fair” before
it received its far more attractive name. It was held in the
Skopje Center, on May 30th and May 31st, 2009. So it
was a two day event: a fair in the city center square promoting the humane treatment of animals, animal rights,
and responsible pet ownership; and a wonderful adoption
opportunity, complete with sterilization of stray animals.
The project was very successful, as we educated youth volunteers on the problem of strays in
Skopje, and found 86 strays (homeless dogs and
cats) a home by the completion of the project!
The project was highly supported by the Skopje community, as many sponsors were involved, including a local veterinarian, pet shops, a local bar, a transportation
company (who transported the pets to the center), the city
of Skopje, the youth club of the Red Cross of Skopje,
and countless other sponsors and volunteers. The event
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