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Open Fun with Special Needs
By: David Fox, Mak 9
Well, after a rude awakening one summer morning, I
decided to endure more early mornings during my
summer odmor to be a trainer for Open Fun Football
Schools. I wrote about this little adventure in the last
edition of the Pau3a!
This is the continuation of the OFFS
adventure and how
holding hands with
great organizations
like this can lead to
opportunities you
would never have
thought of.
Just to recap, Open Fun Football Schools (OFFS) hosts
a week-long day camp skills training in sports activities, primarily soccer in areas where there was once
conflict. I met several trainers from Kosovo at the
trainers’ seminar in Krushevo, and I was told that 6
camps would be starting there. Now, those kids are
also training together in fair play.
The same organization
(OFFS) was interested in
putting together a day
camp for special needs.
So, I was able to organize
a skills training day for the
special hospital here and
invited two other special
needs organizations to join
us for that day. Nearly
100 kids with special
needs and their teachers had a fun day with simple
soccer training. Sponsors were given for food and
transportation that day. Each kid got T-shirts and footballs to leave with happy memories.
One of the agencies who attended that day invited me
to come to the Special Olympics basketball tournament in Kavadarci. I went and
met the director, who, in turn,
invited me to the summer
games. Isn’t it wonderful how
these connections make opportunities?
The basketball tournament
had special needs agencies
from all over Macedonia.
Some of you now work for
them. I was very picture
happy and helped out at a
creative arts table. Several
other PCVs also worked on
that day in various volunteer roles…imagine that.
The summer games will be held again in Kavadarci and
we’d love your help. Also, being a trainer for OFFS is
very easy. You don’t have to be a sports guru to be a
trainer. Just spare a 4 day excursion in July and you’ll
be able to work at a school near your site. More info
will be coming later this spring.
The adventure ends with a great day of celebration in
Veles at our favorite little lake where we all swore in.
In fact, the party was the day after MAK 11 swore in! I
again saw some of the
trainers that I met at
the seminar in
Krushevo. Also, the
Kosovo representatives
were there and we had
a great chat about the
success of their programs.
So, my advice: If you are rudely awakened by turbofolk early one summer morning, don’t put your pillow
over your head wishing it would stop. Get up, look out
the window, and maybe you’ll have an unexpected adventure that turns out to be one of the highlights of your
service.