IC/XC
N I/KA
Press Release
August 2009
A Loving Appeal for the Decani Monastery Relief Fund
Please kindly share with others….
Beloved in Christ our Lord,
May our Gracious God always bless you!
I recently was in the region of Kosovo/Metohija for the fifth time as
president of the Decani Monastery Relief Fund during late June and early
July 2009.
What frightened me was that there are now fewer peace-keeping-troops in the
region and hardly any guards are guarding the Patriarchate of the Serbian
Church in Pec. This is now the situation throughout the region since many UN
soldiers have left the area; however some troops have remained who are
soldiers from the European Union. I saw many Italian, Romanian, Greek and
some US soldiers who have remained in the region, but the number of soldiers
is smaller now than in the past.
What is now happening is that the Decani Monastery, including the
Patriarchate in Pec, had to build a ten foot walls for protection. Last year
when I visited the city of Osojane I saw troops in the region, tanks, and
barbed wire surrounding the region of Kosovo/Metohija. One can give thanks
to God that the Italian troops have remained to protect the Decani
Monastery, but this is not the situation at the Patriarchate in Pec. I did
see a limited number of soldiers guarding the convent-monastery, since a ten
foot wall had been recently built to protect the monastery.
I have also discovered that in many towns where Serbians live, that food is
limited for individual families to purchase and often the Serbian families
seek to go to others villages where they are not welcomed. These families do
so in order to survive from day to day and to have proper food for their
families. If the local Albanians find out that you are Serbian, it might be
your last trip to the market place.
Without proper protection by the local peace-keeping troops, cows are now
being stolen, and if one visits a local Serbian farm, one will find very few
cows. However, one can observe that across the street where non-Serbians
live, there are more then twenty cows! At one village more than one hundred
and twenty cows were stolen; now cows are being brought back to the region
through the efforts of many kind souls from the Norwegian area, and through
the assistance of the Decani Fund.
The situation among the Serbian people is that many families are struggling
greatly to keep their families fed on a regular basis. Now another new soup
kitchen has opened in the region, which brings the total to four soup
kitchens. Can we imagine four soup kitchens? The Decani Fund has supported
three of the soup kitchens in the past and now desires to support the new
one. Let us, dear loving brothers and sisters in Christ, help these soup
kitchens! As part of these soup kitchens also supports local Serbian schools
during the academic year, and the food the children receive from the soup
kitchen is the perhaps their best and maybe only meal of the day. Please
keep in mind that many Serbian families have an income that is less than
twenty Euros per-week, and in some cases forty Euros. Many Serbians who work
for the government are often not paid on a regular basis due to the economic
crisis in the region. In other words, some months they receive no payment at
all.
One can well then imagine how on this earth are the elderly people in the
region are surviving?
Then again, we must ask the honest question: What about the children? How
are they surviving at this hour?
I have also learned of the existence of a University in the Northern part of
Kosovo where local Serbian youth attend school. It is the only place for
higher education for the youth in the region. After learning that many
Serbian youth cannot afford to pay for their education at the University,
the Decani Fund has now set up a Decani Scholarship Fund. The normal expense
for two semesters is 600 Euros ($900.00) per-year which actually pays for
tuition, dormitory, as well as some books and limited food for the students.
Please let us together help the youth of Kosovo and support the Decani
Scholarship Fund, as we have several candidates waiting for assistance at
this hour. As of July 2009, the Decani Fund has set up the Decani
Scholarship Fund for Youth in the region of Kosovo/Metohija.
A year ago I brought one student to America from Kosovo to attend Boise
State University, but at this time it’s far less expensive to support local
youth who will be attending their University in the Kosovo region. At the
same time if you would like to help Lazar Popovic further his education in
America, by all means, open up your good heart and send a donation to our
fund. Thanks to God, that I have one kind donor who is paying half of
Lazar’s tuition; however I must depend on the Decani Fund to pay for his
remaining expenses.
The Decani Fund also continues provide monetary assistance for housing and
medical care. It supports four schools in the Kosovo region by providing
classroom supplies (including computers), wood for heating, and assistance
to pay for electricity. Speaking of electricity, all Serbian homes must now
pay a lump sum of 26 Euros (ca. $37.00 USD) per-month, otherwise they will
be cut off from the power supply. The horror of this matter is that many
Serbian families cannot afford to pay this amount per month. In some cases,
if 70% of a particular village does not make payments, then the electricity
for the entire village will be shut down.
Our Fund, dear brothers and sisters, is trying to do many additional
Christian projects such as assisting with firewood for churches,
monasteries, and convents. The Fund supports the education of orphans (with
a regular scholarship being granted every three months, in addition to the
new Scholarship Fund for the youth) and children with developmental
disabilities in Gracanica.
Please, at this hour, our dear brothers and sisters in Kosovo/Metohija still
need your loving kindness. Open up your caring hearts and donate towards the
Decani Monastery Relief Fund. Send your tax deductible donation to the
following address:
Decani Monastery Relief Fund
+Very Rev. Archimandrite Nektarios Serfes
2618 West Bannock Street
Boise, ID 83702
USA
As always, we shall remember you in prayer. We ask also that you pray for
us.
Thank you!
Your brothers and sisters in Christ our Lord,
+ Very Rev. Archimandrite Nektarios Serfes, President
+ His Grace, Bishop Teodosije, First Vice President
+ Hieromonk (Father) Sava Second Vice President
Lois Fletcher, Secretary
Gioia Maria Frahm, Treasurer
