march 2021
VOICES
MAGAZINE FOR ALL YOUNG PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD
Editorial
A
Едиторијал
s VCS is turning 15 years old, we are celebrating all the people that were inspired to grow in that time. But let’s be more specific! What is VCS all about? For me, it’s all about change and joy through small actions. Sure, volunteers are leaving their comfort zone behind to have new beginnings in unknown places - more change is barely possible. Yet the way I figure it out, the beauty of those journeys is found in the small daily joys. In Kisela Voda, we are excitingly welcoming spring and different volunteers in our family. The new cats in the neighborhood are amusing us, friends are stopping by at our office and I don’t remember the last time I was stressed or in need of a calendar. The change in our attitude starts with more awareness. So let’s be joyful about more sunny days, coffee in the morning and of course the newest edition of our VOICES magazine. Clarissa Leute
К
ако што ВЦС навршува 15 години постоење така ние им оддаваме почест на сите оние кои беа инспирирани да напредуваат во тој период. Но да бидеме малку поконкретни! Што е ВЦС всушност? За мене, тоа е промената и задоволството преку малите акции. Се разбира, волонтерите ја оставаат својата зона на комфорт зад себе, за сметка на нови почетоци, на непознат теренпоголема промена-Здравје! Како и да е, како што јас гледам на работите, убавината на овие патешествија е скриена во секојдневните малечки задоволства. Во Кисела Вода ние со восхит ја поздравуваме пролетта и волонтерите кои доаѓаат во нашето семејство. И додека новодојдените мачки во соседството нé забавуваат, пријателчињата поминуваат во нашата канцеларија и не се сеќавам кога последен пат бев напната или имав потреба од календар. Промената во нашиот став започнува со малку повеќе свесност. Па ајде да се забавуваме во сончевите денови, со утринското кафе и се разбира, со најновото издание на нашето списание ВОИСЕС. Клариса Леуте
VCS DIRECTOR: Nikola Stankoski
EYE: Ewelina Chańska
COORDINATORS: Andrej Naumovski Goran Adamovski Goran Galabov Selina Niemi
VOLUNTEERS: Christopher Machold Clarissa Leute INTERN: Rute Cardoso
WRITERS: Lucile Guéguen Jules Striffler Aleksandra Krstevska Ana Mihajlovska TRANSLATORS: Kristina Stamenova Ejona Limanaj
DESIGNERS: Selina Niemi Rute Cardoso Lucile Guéguen Christopher Machold Clarissa Leute
CONTACT: Volunteers Centre Skopje Emil Zola 3/3-1, 1000, Skopje +389 22 772 095 vcs_contact@yahoo.com www.vcs.org.mk
Voices magazine is coordinated, designed and created by ESC and local volunteers with support of Erasmus+ program.
content
VOICES March 2021 - issue 3
topic of the month 4
From USA to Macedonia: why the Steads came to volunteer in Skopje
Rute Cardoso
26
Од САД во Македонија: зошто семејството Стед дојде да волонтира во Скопје
Руте Кардосо
reportage 8 10
Voices of young people for 15 years
Goran Adamovski
Гласот на младите веќе 15 години
Горан Адамовски
12
Clarissa Leute
14
Bee grateful
16
Social media makes us less social
Lucile Guéguen
8
Jini mirënjohës
Lucile Guéguen
opinion 18 Bitcoin: Risk and Chance within Uncertain Times Christopher Machold
erasmus+ 20 Volunteers Centre Skopje is celebrating 15 years! 22
My one-year European Solidarity Corps mission: a tailormade very positive journey
Jules Striffler
24 Our ESC in Portugal: An adventure to experience
Aleksandra Krstevska & Ana Mihajlovska
25
На ЕСК во Португалија: Авантура што мора да се доживее
12
Александра Крстевска & Ана Михајловскa
22
VOICES - 3
topic of the month
4 - VOICES
тема на месецот
From USA to Macedonia:
why the Steads came to volunteer in Skopje With their two small Maltese, the retired North American couple is already used to move around - after living in the Caribbean for five years, their latest choice was Skopje, Macedonia. Edward Stead and Elen Wright-Stead are looking forward to helping out as they can in a foreign country while they enjoy the landscape and history of the region.
T
he drive to volunteer has accompanied both for most of their lives. With a list of places they have lived in and done volunteer work in - still growing, Edward Stead and Elen Wright-Stead have a new addition - Macedonia. After several locations in the United States and a dream-come-true moving to the Turks and Caicos Islands, in the Caribbean, the North American retired couple decided to move to Skopje about six months ago. Traveling around and getting to know the history of the area is also on their To-Do list. When they asked themselves “what’s the next thing we want to do?”, moving to Macedonia, 9 thousand kilometers away from that beautiful tropical island, was not the typical answer. “We travel places for no reason”, explains Elen Wright-Stead to VOICES. “We’re just ‘you know what, try it, and if we don’t like it, there’s always a plane’”, she says while shrinking her shoulders. Edward confirms that this moving is part of an
expansion of their horizons by nodding his head. “We came here and we like it. The day we don’t like it continuously, we will probably go someplace else and try something else - as you get older it is more difficult to do that”, the former police officer points out. Despite acknowledging that moving is somewhat stressful, with all the luggage and the two small Maltese they have, the couple, married for almost 25 years now, seems happy in their new home. Their open-mindedness and will to explore allowed them to move to many places without being trapped and to make untypical decisions on various occasions – such as getting married six months after they met on a blind date. They found out about Macedonia when Elen’s son got married to a
Macedonian, about four years ago. After that, the Steads kept coming to visit once a year and they felt so welcomed that they moved to Skopje. “They don’t even live here anymore”, says Elen amid laughter, “but we had found it so nice, genuine, warm and family-oriented… we love it, we really do”. “I really like the food”, admits Edward, with one of the little dogs in his lap, with a smile. “I was pushing Macedonia a little bit more than Elen because I really wanted to use it as a base to travel - to go to Turkey for a week or two, to Cyprus, to Malta and this is a nice base”, Edward explains. Besides, the couple is looking forward to “give back”. “In America, we do a lot of volunteering, is kind of expected”, begins Stead. The New Yorker has done volunteer work all his life from the common Boy Scout to the California Highway Patrol (CHP) 11-99 Foundation when he was working as a police officer. Besides this last organization (which assists CHP employees and their families – “11-99” is the radio code for “officer VOICES - 5
topic of the month
needs assistance”), Stead also donated time to “schools, to disabled children”, since the Police Force where he worked for around 20 years volunteered as an institution. “Even at a young age you are kind of expected to help when you can”, explains Edward. “And yes, Americans can be very selfish and they make a lot of movies about that, but even the selfish people give. They may be selfish with their time but they give money, for example, if they have that. But it all equals out: you do what you can, when you can”, he concludes. Volunteering after being retired is also common, since there is time to give - Stead has the example of his father that after being retired worked even more for he volunteered every day. Most of the volunteer work that Elen did was after getting her university degree – she worked with St. Joseph’s Hospital, the Ladybug Foundation and other organizations in New Jersey. After being a chef for about 35 years, the New Jerseyan focused primarily on volunteering after retirement - more concretely in Provo Children’s Home, in Turks and Caicos Islands, with a “lot of food drives and a lot of cooking”.
6 - VOICES
“
People go to Venice because of the canals, people go to Paris because of the Eiffel Tower, well, people can come to Macedonia because Skopje has an interesting ornateness about it that not everybody, not every Macedonian might understand from a tourist perspective. Edward Stead
North American living in Skopje
Edward explains that there were some “group homes for homeless kids and Elen would just drop off food, big cookies and Halloween sweets, bring baskets over”.
like a big Halloween, so they could come over. I would order candy from all over and just have big candy bars so the kids felt really special”, Elen shares affectionately.
“We tried to uplift the kids for the holidays too”, adds Elen. “Because they didn’t really have anywhere else to go. Sometimes, they would say ‘would you like to take a child for Christmas morning?’ and I thought ‘just for Christmas morning? That’s sad, what about the whole week?’”, she tells with a big smile. “We would do things
But food was not the only focus. For a Christmas feeling during summer, Elen would donate clothes and buy certain items specifically for the young girls. Because of this, hearing “your
тема на месецот
luggage is so many pounds over” from the airlines was not something new - her answer was a sigh and an “ok, how much is it going to cost me?”. “I don’t care because these are not even for me, they are for the kids”, says Elen. Now retired and (again) in a different country, the will to continue to help remains. And for that, they found Volunteers Centre Skopje. “The volunteers that we have met are so energetic about being a volunteer”, comments Edward about the good feeling they had towards the people. “We call them the army”, Elen admits laughing. “Also, VCS has been around a while - 15 years - and they seem to be a bigger organization”, says Edward who gives preference to older and more solid organizations since “they usually are a little bit better organized”. His wife agrees. “There are many charities in the United States that sometimes you give money to and you don’t know where it’s going. So we thought it had a very wellrounded situation and we thought it would be really awesome”, Elen
completes. “We will help out in what we can. Sometimes it will be with school supplies, other times it will be working with VOICES, other times may be me helping setting stands”, enumerates Edward. Elen completes with the key-word: diversity. “We will keep it diverse because I think that we are ‘mature’ now - we don’t use the ‘older’ word”, she says laughing, “so we have different things to bring to the table”. Besides the people, the couple is very enthusiastic about the city itself – especially Edward. “I like the statues”, he admits. Something that also got the couples’ attention was the street dogs. “They look healthy”, Elen says. “Where we came from, you see dogs starving to death”, shares Edward. The urban landscape is also a plus. “I know it’s an older look that’s being taken away slowly as they redo buildings, as they reface them, so I find that very interesting. The buildings show the history”, Edward explains. “People go to Venice because of the canals, people go to Paris because of the Eiffel Tower, well, people can come to Macedonia because Skopje has an interesting
ornateness about it that not everybody, not every Macedonian might understand from a tourist perspective”, he concludes. The couple leaves advice for people in doubt of coming to Macedonia – “come and spend some time”, “you won’t be disappointed”. Edward also incents Macedonian NGOs to reach out to more Americans since “a lot would come here to volunteer”. While they were grocery shopping, the couple even met an American couple that had been volunteering in Kosovo. “Now, they live about an hour from Skopje, in a small town, and just started a small business there with locals”, tells Stead. “We thought ‘wouldn’t it be awesome to get more Americans, more people our age to get into this, that we are traveling for a few months at a time, things like that’”, Elen wonders excitingly. “We are loving it, the dogs love it and I think we will have a nice stay and hopefully we can really do some help and do some nice work with the volunteering”, concludes Elen happily.
Rute Cardoso
VOICES - 7
reportage
Vo
of young p
The magazine, designed to break stereotypes in society, was created in December 2006 in cooperation between VCS and high school “Dr. Pance Karagjozov”.
O
ur ideals are the same as at the end of 2006 when we published the first issue of “Voices” magazine. In a much more modest version, but with a powerful message: tolerance. At that time, we were concerned about violence among young people from different ethnic communities in our homeland. We could not silently observe how the already fragile coexistence is going to break on the most innocent and naive - the children. And that's why we raised our voices. We became the voice. We became "Voices".
8 - VOICES
oices
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people for 15 years The magazine, designed to break stereotypes in society, was created with the career center at the high school "Dr. Pance Karagjozov". "We wanted young journalists, activists and volunteers to quickly spread the word about the ethnic prejudices and tensions that were active among young people at the time. For a short time, the magazine was supported by the Agency for Youth and Sports, and then it became and is the full responsibility, obligation and satisfaction of the Volunteer Center Skopje. In the meantime, the magazine has grown into a quality product, in which hundreds and hundreds of young volunteers have learned to write and think like journalists, to design, to improve their language skills, to learn teamwork in an intercultural environment and to create public opinion." Nikola Stankoski, founder and director of VCS. Lindita, Elmedija, Damjan, Monica, Silhan, Harris, Amir, Fikret, Vladimir, Valentina and Nikolce edited the first issues of "Voices" with special support from professor Blagoja Gjorcevski.
"We all need to understand that together we are stronger, only together we can reach a better and more peaceful future. Aren't we tired of moving away, do we not understand what we are missing and what they are filling our heads with? There is no nation without its own problems, no one should think that prejudices are true, because the reality is different", the young people appealed.
A decade and a half later, “Voices”, in the year of its 15th anniversary, continues to steadily break down stereotypes in society. Our magazine, which we publish online every month and print three times a year (and distribute free of charge), is written in Macedonian, English and Albanian. It currently writes Jules, Rute, Dafina, Clarissa, Christopher, Simona, Ewelina, Selina, Ana-Maria, Vitoria, Elton, Josip ... Foreign volunteers staying in VCS, local supporters, activists and youth workers from Macedonia and from abroad who need to express their views. We try to be current and modern without getting dirty with politics or hate speech. We offer freshness and optimism to the readers. Media literacy is an important tool in raising democratic awareness in society. Join us, because "we all need to understand that together we are stronger, only together we can reach a better and more peaceful future".
First edition of VOICES, printed in December 2006
Goran Adamovski
VOICES - 9
reportage
„Во
Гласот на мл
Списанието замислено да ги разбие стереотипите во општеството беше креирано во декември 2006 година во соработка на ВЦС и средното училиште „Д-р Панче Караѓозов’.
И
деалите ни се исти како и кон крајот на есента 2006 година кога го објавивме првиот број на магазинот „Воисес“. Во многу поскромна варијанта, но со моќна порака: толеранција. Тогаш бевме загрижени поради насилството меѓу младите од различни етнички заедници во нашата татковина. Не можевме немо да набљудуваме како се крши и онака кревкиот соживот и тоа врз најневините и најнаивните – децата. И затоа го подигнавме гласот. Станавме гласот. Станавме „Воисес“.
10 - VOICES
оисес“
репортажа
ладите веќе 15 години Списанието замислено да ги разбие стереотипите во општеството беше креирано со кариерниот центар во средното училиште „Д-р Панче Караѓозов’. „Сакавме млади новинари, активисти и волонтери бргу да пренесат ’гласови’ за предрасудите и тензиите на етничка основа што тогаш беа активни меѓу младите. Кратко време, магазинот беше поддржан и од Агенцијата за млади и спорт, а потоа стана и е целосна одговорност, обврска и задоволство на Волонтерски Центар Скопје. Во меѓувреме, списанието прерасна во квалитетен производ, во кој стотици и стотици млади волонтери научија да пишуваат и да размислуваат новинарски, да дизајнираат, да ги подобрат своите јазични способности, да научат тимска работа во интеркултурна средина и да креираат јавно мислење“, се присетува Никола Станкоски, основач и директор на ВЦС. Линдита, Елмедија, Дамјан, Моника, Силхан, Харис. Амир, Фикрет, Владимир, Валентина и Николче ги уредуваат првите броеви на „Воисес“ со посебна поддршка од професорот Благоја Ѓорчевски.
„Сите треба да разбереме дека заедно сме посилни, само заедно можеме да стигнеме до некоја поубава и помирна иднина. Зарем не ни е доста од оддалечување, зарем не разбираме што пропуштаме и со што ни ги полнат главите? Не постои нација без свои проблеми, никој не смее да помисли дека предрасудите се вистина, бидејќи реалноста е поинаква“, апелираа младите. Деценија и половина подоцна, „Воисес“, во годината кога слави 15-годишен јубилеј, и натаму упорно
ги руши стереотипите во општеството. Во нашиот магазин, кој секој месец го објавуваме електронски, а го печатиме три пати годишно (и бесплатно го дистрибуираме), се пишува на македонски, англиски и албански јазик. Во него сега пишуваат Жул, Руте, Дафина, Клариса, Кристофер, Симона, Евелина, Селина, Ана-Марија, Виторија, Елтон, Јосип... Волонтери од странство што престојуваат во ВЦС, локални поддржувачи, активисти и младински работници од Македонија и од странство што имаат потреба да го искажат својот став. Се трудиме да бидеме актуелни и модерни без да се валкаме со политика или со говор на омраза. На читателската публика и нудиме свежина и оптимизам. Медиумската писменост е важна алатка во подигнување на демократската свест во општеството. Придружете ни се, бидејќи „сите треба да разбереме дека заедно сме посилни, само заедно можеме да стигнеме до некоја поубава и помирна иднина“.
Прво издание на Воисес, печатено во декември 2006 година
Горан Адамовски
VOICES - 11
reportage
SOCIAL MEDIA MAKES US LESS SOCIAL
The longest running study of all time gives us the answer to an essential life question. What makes a good life?
12 - VOICES
репортажа
T
he Grant Study from the Harvard Medical School has been researching the lives of young men for 78 years now, trying to find clues to leading healthy and happy lives. The main conclusion is that: “warmth of relationships throughout life has the greatest positive impact on life satisfaction.
The described situation applies to a German volunteer who moved to Greece for a year. Sophie, 19 years old tells the following: “Right now I am participating in an exchange year and I won’t get to see many of my loved ones for an entire year. Group chats and video calls succeed to overcome the distant feeling.”
To put it short: Friendships bring you happiness. Loving relationships are the most precious joy in the world.
While social media is a great way to feel connected, it makes people feel lonely at the same time. One reason for that is a phenomenon called “FOMO”. FOMO is short for “Fear of missing out”. It can be described as the anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere. The fear to miss out on events and life has always been present, but in recent years the media worsened that. When a friend posts pictures of parties or day trips that you weren’t invited to, this can cause a lot of hurt and pain. Now that parties are “announced to the world”, it causes people to feel left out when they shouldn’t.
However, there is one great influence that is changing the nature of our friendships. Social media slowly sneaked into our daily lives and is taking over every aspect of it. It’s time to discuss in which ways it influences the most precious joy of our life.
“
People who were the most satisfied in their relationships at age 50 were the healthiest at age 80 Robert Waldinger Director of “The Grant Study”
Ironically, “social” media makes us less “social”. Simon Sinek, a british author and inspirational speaker depicts that problem in the interview “The Millenial Question”. ”If you wake up and you check your phone before you say “Good morning” to your girlfriend, boyfriend or spouse you have an addiction. You have a generation growing up with lower self-esteem that doesn’t have the coping mechanisms to deal with stress.”
We are in the middle of a pandemic and people are using the internet as a way to connect with their loved ones. They are hosting online game nights, having breakfast together and catching up on their friend’s well-being. But not only during a pandemic does it offer possibilities to expand our social life.
Using apps like WhatsApp, Instagram and TikTok has become a substitute for a lot of our offline interaction. Even while meeting up, phones are checked every other minute. Whenever we’re in a social situation and we feel awkward, bored or lonely, we turn to our phones. That way we deform soft skills for communication, listening and empathy .
The invention of the internet allows us to have friends all over the world. That leads to a greater outlook on life since we are more aware and in touch with other living standards.
So how do we deal with this problem? Well, first of all, we need to be aware of the dangers. We need to sit down and ask ourselves: What brings me joy when I use my phone?
Whenever we’re in a social situation and we feel awkward, bored or lonely, we turn to our phones. Sophie realised the following for herself. “I don’t have much joy when I regard Instagram for a long time. Instead of watching somebody’s life, I like to hear the stories from the person itself. I don’t need to see their perfectly edited lives.” As mentioned in the beginning, the Harvard study points out the importance of healthy relationships. “People who were the most satisfied in their relationships at age 50 were the healthiest at age 80”, states the director of that study. With that in mind, we should all take care of our relationships. Social media can never be a replacement for realworld human connection. After all, everybody needs to find their own healthy strategy. Sitting down and reflecting about it is the first reasonable step. What about you? Is social media improving your friendships or slowly taking away your life’s quality? Clarissa Leute Sources: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ ritual-and-the-brain/201804/the-sciencefomo-and-what-we-re-really-missing-out https://optinmonster.com/fomo-statistics/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_Study https://www.verywellfamily.com/ signs-social-media-is-ruining-teenfriendships-460643 https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mentalhealth/social-media-and-mental-health.htm https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=vudaAYx2IcE
VOICES - 13
reportage
Bee grateful ! “
If the bee disappeared off the face of the Earth, man would only have four years left to live.” Maurice Maeterlinck, The Life of the Bee
B
ees are very important for humans: they are the heart of our survival as a species. Bees are found everywhere, except Antarctica. There are about 20,000 distinct bee species in the world, and more than 2,000 in Europe alone. We often see these insects as a threat, but bees are responsible for a surprising amount of the food we consume. Bees are divided into two types based on their nesting behavior: solitary bees and social bees. As their name suggests, social bees live together in colonies within a hive, following a hierarchal structure consisting of a queen, workers, and drones (male bees). They are known to make honey and wax. The most common social bees are honey bees and bumblebees. Social bees make up about 10 percent of the entire bee population. Most bees, approximately 90 percent, are solitary and live in nests tunneled into the soil. Since they do not belong to a colony and do not have a queen or hive to protect, solitary bees are nonaggressive. Whether wild or domesticated, all bees are important pollinators. The reasons for importance of bees are
the many.
Bees are mostly known for their honeyproducing talents. Honey is the most widespread bee product worldwide. In 2016, there were about 90.5 million beehives in the world, each beehive producing
14 - VOICES
approximately 20 kilograms of honey per year. The production of one kilogram of honey requires one million flowers and 50,000 bee flights. One honey bee can visit between 50 and 1,000 flowers in one trip. If we do the maths, a honey bee colony comprising 25,000 forager bees, each one making 10 trips a day, can pollinate up to 250 million flowers a day. That’s a mind-boggling amount of flowers! Alongside honey, these small black-andyellow-striped insects also produce pollen, propolis, beeswax, and bee venom. These products have been used for therapeutic purposes since ancient times in various countries, such as Egypt and Greece. For example, propolis, also known as the “bee glue”, is a resinous-like substance produced by bees collected from plants, that is used to protect and maintain the structural integrity of the hive. It is a powerful natural antibiotic used to treat a wide variety of diseases and conditions, including laryngitis and psoriasis. Other byproducts we regularly use, such as healthcare products, candles, and drugs, also contain bee products. Bees contribute to one-third of the food we eat. As pollinators, these small flying insects play a significant role in every aspect of the entire ecosystem and food chain through their pollination action. Pollination is a very important part of the life cycle of
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plants and the production of fruit and seed crops. It consists of transferring pollen grains to flowers of the same species for sexual reproduction. Fertilization is possible through this process, and flowers setting fruits can develop. More than 80 percent of the world’s plants need pollinators to reproduce. Bee pollination improves both the quality and quantity of crops. Many of the foods we need to survive benefit from this input, including almost all fruit and grain crops: strawberries, avocados, pumpkins, carrots, apples, zucchini, cucumbers, grapefruit, and cocoa among many others. Blueberry, almond, and cherry crops are entirely or highly bee-pollinationdependent. In Brazil, the entire annual production of Brazil nuts – 40,000 tonnes per year – depends exclusively upon the Euglossa bee. Without these buzzing insects, our food choices would be radically limited. Bees and forests are intimately linked. The growth of trees and many other plants relies on the cross-pollination carried out by bees. Flowers of forest trees supply honey bees with subsistence, such as pollen and nectar, while forests physically provide shelter to beehives as well as other creatures. A study conducted in Western Africa has shown that the presence of beehives near the cashew trees had increased the yield of cashew nuts by two to three times. Despite the importance of bees, we have witnessed a dramatic and sudden decline in bee populations in the last decades. Worldwide beekeepers have been reporting hive losses of 30 percent or higher every year. The decimation of bee colonies
poses a threat to global agriculture. If bees went extinct, there would be a massive decline in the production of crops which would affect global food supplies. It would also mess with the delicate balance of the planet’s ecosystem. The number of bees has been dwindling at staggering numbers due to a combination of several factors. Among different reasons, chemicals, such as herbicides, insecticides, and fertilizers, used in agriculture to control pests and disease or promote growth, are severely harmful to bees and other pollinators. Bees are very sensitive and delicate insects; they require certain specific conditions to thrive. Pesticides impair bees’ behavior, including their ability to navigate and recognize flowers or communication within bee colonies. Bees’ habitat has also been damaged by human tampering, including agriculture, resource extraction, and human settlement. Protecting bees should be our absolute priority to maintain ecological balance and preserve our food supply and our future. Hopefully, now you can appreciate bees and everything they do for us to keep our yards blooming and help plants provide us with delicious fruits and vegetables. Lucile Guéguen Sources: http://www.helpabee.org/urban-bee-legends. html https://www.beeautiful.store/beeswhy-are-they-important-for-theenvironment/?v=551c0342d534 http://www.fao.org/3/ca4657en/ca4657en.pdf https://www.weforest.org/newsroom/whatlink-between-bees-and-reforestation
You won’t bee-lieve that ! China is the world’s biggest producer of honey, achieving almost 30 percent of global production. However, while bee populations plummet, much of the honey made in China is counterfeit, by being artificially produced with sugar syrup to enhance honey producers’ profit margins. Although Asian honeys have been banned by the European Union, a lot of fake or tainted honey is still pouring into many supermarkets. So always check the origin of the honey you purchase! VOICES - 15
reportage
Jini mirënjohës “
Nëse bleta do të zhdukej nga sipërfaqja e tokës, njeriut do t’i mbeteshin vetëm katër vite jetë
Maurice Maeterlinck, Jeta e Bletës
B
letët janë shumë të rëndësishme për njerëzit: ato janë zemra e mbijetesës sonë si specie. Bletët gjenden kudo, përveç Antarktidës. Ka rreth 20,000 specie të dallueshme bletësh në botë, dhe më shumë se 2,000 vetëm në Evropë. Ne shpesh i shohim këto insekte si një kërcënim, por bletët janë përgjegjëse për një sasi të habitshme të ushqimit që ne konsumojmë. Bletët ndahen në dy lloje bazuar në sjelljen e tyre në fole: bletët e vetmuara dhe bletët shoqërore. Siç sugjeron emri i tyre, bletët shoqërore jetojnë së bashku në koloni brenda një zgjoi, duke ndjekur një strukturë hierarkale të përbërë nga një mbretëreshë, punëtorë dhe drone (bletë meshkuj). Ata dihet se bejnë mjaltë dhe dyll. Bletët më të zakonshme shoqërore janë bletët e mjaltit dhe bletët grerëz. Bletët sociale përbëjnë rreth 10 përqind të të gjithë popullatës së bletëve. Shumica e bletëve, afërsisht 90 përqind, janë të vetmuara dhe jetojnë në fole të tuneluara në tokë. Meqenëse ato nuk i përkasin një kolonie dhe nuk kanë një mbretëreshë ose një zgjua për të mbrojtur, bletët e vetmuara nuk janë agresive. Pavarësisht nëse bletët janë të egra ose të zbutura, të gjitha janë polenizues të rëndësishme. Arsyet për rëndësinë e bletëve janë të shumta. Bletët kryesisht njihen për talentet e tyre në prodhimin e mjaltit. Mjalti është produkti më i përhapur i bletës në të gjithë botën. Në vitin 2016, kishte rreth 90.5 milion koshere bletësh në botë, secila
16 - VOICES
koshere prodhonte afërsisht 20 kilogramë mjaltë në vit. Prodhimi i një kilogram mjaltë kërkon një milion lule dhe 50,000 fluturime bletësh. Një bletë mjalti mund të vizitojë midis 50 dhe 1000 lule në një udhëtim. Nëse bëjmë llogaritjet, një koloni e bletëve të mjaltit që përfshin 25,000 bletë foragjere, secila që bën 10 udhëtime në ditë, mund të polenizojë deri në 250 milion lule në ditë. Kjo është një sasi marramendëse lulesh! Krahas mjaltit, këto insekte të vogla me shirita të zezë dhe të verdhë gjithashtu prodhojnë polen, propolis, dyll blete dhe helm bletësh. Këto produkte janë përdorur për qëllime terapeutike që nga kohërat antike në vende të ndryshme, si Egjipti dhe Greqia. Për shembull, propolis, i njohur gjithashtu si “zamkë bletësh”, është një substancë e ngjashme me rrëshirën e prodhuar nga bletët e mbledhur nga bimët, që përdoret për të mbrojtur dhe ruajtur integritetin strukturor të zgjoit. Është një antibiotik i fuqishëm natyror që përdoret për të trajtuar një larmi të gjerë sëmundjesh dhe gjendjesh, përfshirë laringitin dhe psoriazën. Nënprodukte të tjera që ne përdorim rregullisht, të tilla si produkte të kujdesit shëndetësor, qirinj dhe barna, gjithashtu përmbajnë produkte bletësh. Bletët kontribuojnë në një të tretën e ushqimit që hamë. Si polenizues, këto insekte të vogla fluturuese luajnë një rol të rëndësishëm në çdo aspekt
репортажа
të të gjithë ekosistemit dhe zinxhirit ushqimor përmes veprimit të tyre të pjalmimit. Pjalmimi është një pjesë shumë e rëndësishme e ciklit jetësor të bimëve dhe prodhimi i kulturave frutore dhe atyre me fara. Ai konsiston në transferimin e kokrrave të polenit në lule të së njëjtës specie për riprodhim seksual. Fekondimi është i mundur përmes këtij procesi dhe lulet që krijojnë frutat mund të zhvillohen. Më shumë se 80 përqind e bimëve në botë kanë nevojë për pjalmues për t’u riprodhuar. Pjalmimi i bletëve ndihmon në cilësinë dhe sasinë e të korrave. Shumë prej ushqimeve që na duhen për të mbijetuar përfitojnë nga kjo kontribut, duke përfshirë pothuajse të gjitha kulturat e frutave dhe drithërave: luleshtrydhet, avokadot, kungujt, karotat, mollët, kungujt e njomë, kastravecat, grejpfrutat dhe kakao ndër shumë të tjera. Të korrat e boronicës, bajames dhe qershisë varen plotësisht ose shumë nga pllenimi i bletëve. Në Brazil, i gjithë prodhimi vjetor i arrave braziliane - 40,000 ton në vit - varet ekskluzivisht nga bleta Euglossa. Pa këto insekte gumëzhitëse, zgjedhjet tona ushqimore do të ishin të kufizuara rrënjësisht.
Pavarësisht nga rëndësia e bletëve, ne kemi qenë dëshmitarë të një rënieje dramatike dhe të befasishme të popullatave të bletëve në dekadat e fundit. Bletarët në të gjithë botën kanë raportuar humbje të koshereve prej 30 përqind ose më tepër çdo vit. Shkatërrimi i kolonive të bletëve përbën një kërcënim për agrikulturën globale. Nëse bletët zhduken, do të kishte një rënie masive në prodhimin e të korrave që do të ndikonte në furnizimet globale të ushqimit. Do të ndikonte gjithashtu në ekuilibrin delikat të ekosistemit të planetit.
Bletët dhe pyjet janë të lidhura ngushtë. Rritja e pemëve dhe shumë bimëve të tjera mbështetet në pjalmimin kryq të kryer nga bletët. Lulet e pemëve pyjore furnizojnë bletët e mjaltit me ushqim, të tilla si poleni dhe nektari, ndërsa pyjet sigurojnë fizikisht strehim për kosheret e bletëve, si dhe për krijesa të tjera. Një studim i kryer në Afrikën Perëndimore ka treguar se prania e koshereve të bletëve pranë disa pemëve arrash braziliane kishte rritur rendimentin e tyre 2 deri në 3 herë.
Burimet: http://www.helpabee.org/urban-bee-legends.html https://www.beeautiful.store/bees-why-are-they-important-fortheenvironment/?v=551c0342d534 http://www.fao.org/3/ca4657en/ca4657en.pdf https://www.weforest.org/newsroom/what-link-between-beesand-reforestation
Numri i bletëve është duke u zvogëluar në një numër marramendës për shkak të një kombinimi të disa faktorëve. Ndër disa arsye të ndryshme, kimikatet, të tilla si herbicide, insekticide dhe pleh, të përdorura në agrikulturë për të kontrolluar dëmtuesit dhe sëmundjet ose për të nxitur rritjen, janë shumë të dëmshme për bletët dhe polenizuesit e tjerë. Bletët janë insekte shumë të ndjeshme dhe delikate; ato kërkojnë kushte të caktuara specifike për të lulëzuar. Pesticidet dëmtojnë sjelljen e bletëve, duke përfshirë aftësinë e tyre për të naviguar dhe për të njohur lulet ose komunikimin brenda kolonive të bletëve. Habitati i bletëve është dëmtuar gjithashtu nga ndërhyrjet njerëzore, duke përfshirë bujqësinë, nxjerrjen e burimeve dhe vendosjen njerëzore. Shpresojmë, tani se ju mund të vlerësoni bletët dhe gjithçka që ata bëjnë për ne për të mbajtur oborret tona të lulëzuara dhe për të ndihmuar bimët të na sigurojnë fruta dhe perime të shijshme. Lucile Guéguen Përkthim: Ejona Limanaj
Ju nuk do ta besoni! ! Kina është prodhuesi më i madh në botë i mjaltit, duke arritur gati 30 përqind të prodhimit global. Sidoqoftë, teksa popullatat e bletëve bien, shumë prej mjaltit të bërë në Kinë është e falsifikuar, duke u prodhuar artificialisht me shurup sheqeri për të rritur marzhet e fitimit të prodhuesve të mjaltit. Megjithëse mjaltët aziatikë janë ndaluar nga Bashkimi Evropian, shumë mjalte të rreme ose të ndotura ende po shiten në shumë supermarkete. Kështu që gjithmonë kontrolloni origjinën e mjaltit që blini! VOICES - 17
opinion
Oitcoin - Risk and Chance within Uncertain Times Some people praise it, others shake their heads when they hear its name: Bitcoin is dividing the opinions of financial experts already for years. Recently the cryptocurrency came to the center of attention again due to a fulminant rise within a year of lockdowns and uncertain prospects.
W
hat if you hear a story about becoming a multimillionaire in just 10 years without doing anything except making an investment of, let’s say, 10 Dollars? Sounds like a beautiful dream or one of those annoying scam mails, doesn’t it? Well, admittedly something like this is more than unlikely to happen, but still it’s not impossible either. In fact, it would have been possible if you were one of the early believers in something that you will currently find in almost every debate about finances and money – the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. You probably came across Bitcoin somehow, at least since the end of the year 2020 you should have heard about it. Almost daily the news could present a new all-time high of the Bitcoin price until it reached $41,973 on the 8th of January 2021, before it slightly fell again. But first things first: what is Bitcoin? No worries, we won’t go into the deep technical details. Bitcoin is a currency, like US Dollar, Euro or Macedonian Denar, but in contrast to those it doesn’t belong to a state or union, neither is it “managed” by a central bank or similar institution. It is a decentralized and digital currency, so physical forms of notes and coins are not common. Furthermore, while online transactions with traditional currencies need an intermediating organization like a bank, Bitcoin works peer-to-peer without a third party involved. For those reasons 18 - VOICES
as well as other encoded privacy features, Bitcoin is considered as a comparatively anonymous payment means, what in turn was one of the main reasons why many people used it during its early days. It is no secret that Bitcoin was the means of choice for dealing with illegal goods and services on darknet marketplaces, but the times when the cryptocurrency was mainly serving such purposes belong to the past. Since its creation, Bitcoin went through many ups and downs, but the trend is clearly pointing up. But why has the price of Bitcoin risen that much especially last year? One reasonable explanation can be this uncertain time that we live in for more than a year already. With COVID-19 the world became more and more unpredictable. We feel like things can change daily. To prevent a probably even worse collapse of their economies, many governments and central banks flooded the market with money. For that reason, some people expect an increasing inflation and fear that the money they have in their bank accounts (or under their pillows) right now could be worth much less in the near future. So they are searching for ways to store their value. While Bitcoin for sure is still a quite volatile and risky investment it
has o n e b i g advantage compared to traditional currencies, namely, its amount is limited to a maximum of 21 million coins. For this reason, Bitcoin might be more comparable to gold than to other currencies, with some people even seeing it as “the digital gold”. But
people
are
searching
for
мислење
opportunities as well. With the start of the pandemic, many factors came together that ended up in a highly increased amount of people trading stocks and other financial products, some of them for the first time. During the lockdown, many people must have stayed at home and suddenly had a lot of free time. In combination with the stock market crash in March, they saw a chance to participate in the recovery process and the fast-rising stock prices. It is more than likely that during this time of raised awareness, many people came across Bitcoin, seeing it as a potential “money maker” too. But probably the biggest reason for Bitcoins’ recent
breakthrough is the fact that the currency is becoming more and more accepted and is slowly entering the barrier to mainstream. Institutional
investors and “big players” like life insurance company MassMutual, hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones and many others undertook heavy investments into the cryptocurrency. Lately, also electric car company Tesla purchased Bitcoins worth 1.5 billion Dollars. That of course creates more trust and gives many once doubtful people or investors the courage to follow the trend as well. Furthermore, an increasing amount of companies enable their users or customers to pay in Bitcoin for their goods and services and to use it on their platforms. Wellknown brands like Domino’s Pizza, Expedia.com and recently also PayPal allow dealing with Bitcoins within their services. Tesla plans to accept Bitcoin as payment for their products as well. Even former “anti-cryptocurrency” company Visa has warmed up with Bitcoin. The financial service corporation is launching a credit card with a Bitcoin reward system as well as it’s currently working on a way that makes Bitcoin more accessible and easier to buy. But why am I talking about all of this? Do I want to say “put all your money into Bitcoin now?” – Definitely not! Bitcoin had a similar run in 2007, when its price rose from under $1,000 at the beginning of the year to almost $20,000 in December, before it dropped dramatically and eventually found itself at a price of $3,500 in December 2018. There are many indications that this time it’s gonna be different, that Bitcoin became mature. Some see Bitcoin increasing tenfold within a few years. Others think it’s just another speculative bubble as it was in 2017. Since January 8th, 2021, Bitcoin temporarily lost 25% of its value and fell back to $30,000 just to rise to over $58,000 within a few weeks later. Who knows, maybe the price falls back to $5,000 in just a few weeks, but maybe the price is not going under
$50,000 ever again. The truth is we can’t know for sure what is going to happen next. But isn’t this the case with many things? In most western societies we were used to live in a more or less stable and predictive world, at least we thought so. But things have changed drastically last year. With the Corona pandemic and the measures by the governments many people lost their jobs, had to shutdown their companies or faced other difficult situations – many of us had and still have to experience how fragile the world actually is. However, every crisis brings new opportunities. We just have to open our eyes and search for them. And we have to be willing to take some risks. The paradox is that at the moment people are seeking safety more than ever and for many of them taking risks (and therefore making their life even more unpredictable) might be the last thing they could imagine doing. But maybe we have to admit that after all safety is an illusion. Therefore, instead of playing save, better play smart. Because there might be a point when playing save actually becomes more costly than taking risks, the point when the act of doing nothing and just waiting for the life we were used to coming back could possibly be a wait forever.
Christopher Machold Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_ bitcoin https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/08/bitcoinbtc-price-hits-41k-up-40percent-so-far-in-2021. html https://theconversation.com/bitcoin-whythe-price-has-exploded-and-where-it-goesfrom-here-152765 https://icoholder.com/blog/places-acceptbitcoin/ https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/12/ young-investors-pile-into-stocks-seeinggenerational-buying-moment-instead-of-risk. html https://www.cnbc.com/select/visa-backs-firstcredit-card-to-offer-bitcoin-rewards/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/ billybambrough/2021/02/03/visa-revealsbitcoin-and-crypto-banking-roadmapamid-race-to-reach-network-of-70million/?sh=69d97244401c https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/08/tesla-buys1point5-billion-in-bitcoin.html
VOICES - 19
erasmus+
Volunteers Centre Skopje is celebrating 15 years! 15 years ago a guy went to Lithuania… … and Volunteers Centre Skopje was born. After a one-year European Voluntary Service (EVS) project in Lithuania, a 19-year-old Nikola Stankoski returned to Macedonia full of dreams and hopes for the future of youth. And he didn’t return empty-handed. He carried a little seed with the idea of providing local and international experiences while living by the principle of learning by doing - that little seed had ‘VCS’ written on it. And that’s how we, a non-governmental youth organization, were born. In the first year, we hosted 10 volunteers and sent 30 Macedonian volunteers abroad. Today, we are one of the leading NGOs in Macedonia when it comes to youth exchange, volunteerism, activism, a recognizable brand and a trusted partner through which over 10,000 Macedonian and foreign volunteers and youth activists have passed. 20 - VOICES
еразмус+
“
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hen it comes to empowering Youth both locally and beyond borders, VCS is a spearhead! The motto of VCS could be: “In interculturality we trust”. A lot of expertise and a nice atmosphere, what else do we need? Jules, France
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Camille, France
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oing an EVS at VCS has taught me a lot about myself, other people, the world and Ajvar with white cheese. Would I do it again? Absolutely! Stay awesome VCS. Mathis, Germany
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olunteering gave me the opportunity to open my mind and myself. VCS is the perfect place to develop any skills you want by working on a large panel of projects. Happy birthday VCS!
CS lets volunteers be the voice of the people put into action.
Lucile, France
ince I came to VCS, I started to call it VCSfamily – there’s this magical atmosphere that makes everyone feel like home. Group of people from so many different backgrounds, working together with such an enthusiasm. Selina, Finland
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ome say ‘the more you enjoy, the quicker time passes’. Well, I experienced an oddity: a time that I fully enjoyed and that enrichent me a lot, felt like a small eternity. Thanks to VCS family for the longest 9 months of my life. Sascha, Germany VOICES - 21
erasmus+
22 - VOICES
еразмус+
My one-year European Solidarity Corps mission::
a tailormade very positive journey T ime is up, my twelve months European Solidarity Corps project within Volunteers Centre Skopje - Волонтерски Центар Скопје (VCS) is behind me. Now is debriefing time. It has been a memorable year in an outstanding NGO in unprecedented circumstances. Living in downtown Скопје - Skopje and being a VCS team member has been very motivating. Voices magazine has been the compass of my time in VCS, our flagship. So, it is my pleasure to share my impressions here.
I arrived on-site in early February 2020, enjoying for a few weeks a reality we were about to indefinitely leave behind overnight. While this environment was still pretty culturally new to me, our world changed significantly and life became way more unusual than it used to be in the snap of a finger. I have been considerably impressed by the ability of my supervisors and teammates to go to the outer limits of flexibility in this difficult situation, implanting in-depth the idea of solidarity. As a response to the tough impact of this extraordinary crisis on international projects, we have been dedicating
the utmost efforts in a good team spirit to find ways to adjust and enhance a fruitful dynamic among ourselves. A wide proportion of our businesses remained underway, and I learned valuable new skills thanks to the expertise of my colleagues and gained many highlevel intercultural insights in a nice atmosphere. Our breadcrumb trail, the foundation of our action can be equally summarized by the two following mottos “Unity in Diversity” and “Together Stronger”. Being a member of a very dedicated multicultural team composed of both locals and foreigners has been very stimulating. It is my firm belief there are countless assets in combining various nationalities within the same team. I genuinely think seeing beyond our respective national structures and specific working cultures definitely enhances our polyvalence and allows us to give birth to a unique blend of innovation.
Despite I have been living several times abroad in these last years, getting step by step acquainted with a quite new way of life is each time a distinct learning exercise with its own characteristics.
I am very pleased to define Skopje as one of my hometowns. I could not have spent this year in a better environment, and for this, I would like to thank the whole VCS team: Фала многу! I am delighted of having had this opportunity to experience once again applied interculturality. I left my position with plenty of good memories and a new experience in the fascinating Western Balkans, after a first experience in Sarajevo a few years ago. I gained an enhanced awareness of the wideness of the scope of European realities. For this, I would like to kindly thank all stakeholders who contributed to turning this project into a reality: VCS, my sending organization i.PEICC Peuple et Culture (Montpellier, France), and the European Commission. As for the next step on my path, I am surely motivated in harnessing my skillset in favor of dialogue beyond borders once again. So, in a nutshell: long live interculturality, long live Human Rights, long live Voices!
Jules Striffler - Жул Штрифлер
VOICES - 23
erasmus+
Our ESC in Portugal: An adventure to experience After long time volunteering in Volunteers Centre Skopje (VCS) and being an active youth participant in the Erasmus+ mobility, we decided to spend a year in Portugal through ESC program.
E
uropean Solidarity Corps is an initiative that provides opportunities for young people to volunteer abroad or in their own countries. Helping others, working in teams with different cultures, being active, collaborate on association activities and promote the Erasmus+ program are just some of the actions when doing a voluntary work. The fact of contributing to the society while volunteering is extraordinary! That’s why we decided to come to Arrouquelas, a small village located in the center of Portugal with an amazing landscape, quiet area with lovely and welcoming people. “H2O Associação de Jovens de Arrouquelas” is a youth organization that aims to show that youth in rural areas can and should have the same opportunities as the ones in the urban areas.
people and learnt how important is to contribute in the community. We truly believe that by living and volunteering in rural area can be of a great impact for us and the citizens living here too. And we must say that, these 2 months while being here were an amazing adventure that everybody should experience it! During this pandemic situation, we never stopped. Our hosting organization allocated activities that will keep us active and involved in the daily routines. All of the activities were guided regarding the safety measures for our health and wellbeing. We feel H2O like our second home and we are excited for another 10 months to spend here.
And if you are reading this, and still thinking if you should take part in an ESC project, do it! You will never regret it! We are thankful to VCS and H2O for giving us this Going for an ESC project during the opportunity! epidemiological situation does not sound like a best idea. But it was quite the opposite! While being Aleksandra Krstevska here, we developed skills, met new Ana Mihajlovska 24 - VOICES
еразмус+
На ЕСК во Португалија: Авантура што мора да се доживее По долгогодишно волонтирање во Волонтерски центар Скопје (ВЦС) и активно младинско учество во мобилноста на Еразмус+, решивме да минеме една година во Португалија преку програмата Европскиот корпус за солидарност (ЕСК).
Т
оа е иницијатива што им дава можности на младите да волонтираат во странство или во матичните земји. Да им помогнете на другите, да работите во тимови со различни култури, да бидете активни, да соработувате во активности на здруженија и да ја промовирате програмата „Еразмус +“ се само некои од активностите што можете да ги почувствувате доколку се одлучите да волонтирате. Фактот дека придонесувате кон подобро општество со вашата доброволна работа е необично драгоцена! Затоа решивме да дојдеме во Арукелас, мало село лоцирано во центарот на Португалија со неверојатен пејзаж, тивка област со пријатни и гостољубиви луѓе. „H2O Associação de Jovens de Arrouquelas“ е младинска организација што има за цел да покаже дека младите во руралните области можат и треба да ги имаат истите можности како и оние во урбаните области. Да се оди на проект на ЕСК за време на епидемиолошката состојба не звучи како најдобра идеја. Но, беше сосема спротивното! Овој период додека сме тука, развивме вештини, запознавме
нови луѓе и научивме колку е важно да се придонесува во заедницата. Ние навистина веруваме дека живеењето и волонтирањето во рурална област може да има големо влијание и за нас и за жителите што живеат тука. И мора да кажеме дека овие два месеци беа неверојатна авантура што сите треба да ја доживеат! За време на оваа пандемиска ситуација - ние никогаш не сопревме. Нашата организацијадомаќин подготви активности што не одржуваат активни и вклучени во секојдневните рутини. Сите активности беа водени согласно безбедносните мерки за зачувување на здравјето. Го чувствуваме „H2O“ како втор дом и возбудени сме што имаме уште 10 месеци да поминеме тука. И, ако го читате ова и сè уште размислувате дали треба да учествувате во проект на ЕСК - сторете го тоа! Никогаш нема да зажалите! Благодарни сме на ВЦС и на H2O што ни ја дадоа оваа можност!
Александра Крстевска Ана Михајловскa VOICES - 25
topic of the month
26 - VOICES
тема на месецот
Од САД во Македонија:
зошто семејството Стед дојде да волонтира во Скопје За пензионираната брачната двојка од Северна Америка и нивнитее две малтешки пудли патувањето е нешто сосема вообичаено. После пет години поминати на Бахами, сопружниците се одлучија да се преселат во Скопје, Македонија. Едвард Стед и Елен Рајт-Стед се надеваат дека ќе можат да пружат помош во туѓа земја додека уживаат во пејзажот и историјата на регионот.
П
оттикот за волонтирање ги следи и двајцата речиси цел живот. Списокот со места каде што имаат живеено и волонтирано сè уште расте, па така Едвард Стед и Елен Рајт-Стед го надополнија со нова локација – Македонија. По преселувањето на различни места во САД, како и селењето на островите Туркс и Кајкос, на Бахами, што беше остварување на нивниот сон пред шест месеци, пензионираниот брачен пар од Северна Америка одлучи да се пресели во Скопје. Нивниот список со задачи се состои и од патување во регионот и запознавање со неговата историја. Кога се запрашаа самите себе „што сакаме да правиме понатаму“, преселувањето во Македонија на 9 илјади километри од убавиот остров не беше типичен одговор. „Патуваме на дестинации без некаква особена причина“, објаснува Елен Рајт-Стед за „Воисес“. „Ние само истражуваме, а ако не
ни се допадне - тука е авионот“, вели таа со кренати рамења. Едвард со климање потврдува дека ова селење е дел од идејата за проширување на нивните хоризонти. „Дојдовме тука и ни се допадна. Доколку по некое време престане да ни се допаѓа, најверојатно ќе одиме на друго место и ќе се обидеме нешто друго – како што човек старее, тоа станува сè потешко“, истакнува поранешниот полицаец. И покрај тоа што признаваат дека селењето е прилично стресно, со сиот багаж и двете мали малтешки пудли, се чини дека сопружниците, во брак веќе 25 години, се среќни во својот нов дом. Благодарение на нивната отвореност и желба за откривање нови нешта, се преселија на многу места без притоа да се чувствуваат заробено како и
донесоа нетипични одлуки во повеќе наврати – на пример одлуката да се венчаат шест месеци откако се запознале на рандеву на слепо. Тие дознаа за Македонија откако синот на Елен се омажи за Македонка пред четири години. Од тогаш, семејството Стед продолжи еднаш годишно да ја посетува Македонија и тие се почувствуваа дека се добредојдени овде. „Тие дури и не живеат веќе тука“, вели Елен, смеејќи се, „но, местово е толку убаво, автентично, гостопримливо и со семејни вредности... го сакаме, навистина“. „Навистина ми се допаѓа храната“, признава Едвард со насмевка, додека едното од кутрињата седи на неговиот скут. „Јас инсистирав малку повеќе од Елен да дојдеме во Македонија, бидејќи сакав да ја искористам како база за патување – на пример би можеле да отидеме во Турција на една или две недели, да ги посетиме Кипар, Малта, а, ова е навистина добра база“, објаснува Едвард. Покрај тоа, двојката се надева VOICES - 27
topic of the month
дека ќе може некако да „возврати“. „Во Америка ние активно се занимаваме со волонтирање, тоа е некако очекувано“, вели Едвард. Њујорчанецот волонтира целиот свој живот – почнувајќи од американската извидничка организација, па сè до фондацијата 11-99 во рамките на California Highway Patrol (државна полиција на Калифорнија – CHP) додека работеше како полицаец. Покрај организацијата чија цел е помагање на вработените во CHP како и на нивните фамилиии („11-99“ е радио кодот за „на полицаецот му треба помош“), Стед исто така им посвети голем дел од своето време на „школите, инвалидните деца“ бидејќи полицијата каде што има работено околу 20 години, спроведува волонтерски активности како институција. „Дури и кога си млад се очекува од тебе да помогнеш кога можеш“, објаснува Едвард. „И, да, Американците можат да бидат многу себични и тие снимаат многу филмови за тоа, но, дури и себичните луѓе донираат. Тие можеби се себични во поглед на нивното време, но, тие, на пример, донираат парични средства, доколку се во можност. Сепак, на крајот се воспоставува некаква рамнотежа: помагаш колку што можеш, во моментот кога си во можност да го сториш тоа“, заклучува тој. За многу луѓе е вообичаено да волонтираат откако ќе се пензионираат, бидејќи имаат повеќе време што би можеле да го
28 - VOICES
“
Луѓето ја посетуваат Венеција поради каналите, го посетуваат Париз поради Ајфеловата кула, па така, луѓето можат да дојдат во Македонија бидејќи Скопје поседува занимлива орнаментика што не секој Македонец би можел да ја разбере од туристички аспект. Едвард Стед
Северно-американец кој живее во Скопје
посветат – Стед го има примерот на татко му кој откако се пензионирал работел дури и многу повеќе од порано, бидејќи волонтирал секој ден. Најголем дел од волонтерските активности во кои учествуваше Елен беа токму по нејзиното дипломирање – соработуваше со болницата Св. Јосиф, фондацијата Ladybug како и многу други организации во Њу Џерси. Работејќи 35 години како шеф во кујна, таа се фокусираше на волонтирањето откако се пензионира – поконкретно во Provo Children’s Home на островите Туркс и Кајкос преку „собирање и дистрибуирање храна како и готвење“. Едвард ги посочува и „групните домови за бездомните деца кои Елен ги посетуваше, носејќи им кошници со храна, големи колачиња и
слатки за Ноќта на вештерките.“ „Исто така, се обидовме да ги орасположиме децата за празниците“, додава Елен. „Затоа што немаа каде да одат. Понекогаш, тие ќе ни речат ’би сакале ли да згрижите едно дете на утрото на Божиќ?ʻ и јас си помислив ʼсамо за божиќното утро? Колку е тажно, а да биде цела недела?ʻ, вели со широка насмевка. „Ќе организираме голема прослава за Ноќта на вештерките, и тие би можеле да ни се придружат. Тогаш јас ќе нарачам бонбони и големи штангли чоколадо, така што децата би биле воодушевени“, раскажува со
тема на месецот
љубов. Но храната не беше единственото нешто во фокус. За децата да ја почувствуваат божиќната атмосфера и налето, Елен би донирала облека и би им купила одредени производи особено на девојчињата. Поради тоа, секогаш кога ќе слушнеше како некој од вработените во авионската компанија и’ вели „Вашиот багаж е со прекумерна тежина“, не беше ништо ново – таа само ќе воздивнеше и ќе речеше „добро, колку ќе ме чини?“. „Не ми е гајле колку ќе ме чини бидејќи тие работи не се за мене туку за децата“, вели Елен. Сега откако се пензионираа и (повторно) се најдоа во друга земја, нивната желба да помогнат и понатаму е присутна. Поради тоа тие го пронајдоа Волонтерскиот Центар Скопје. „Волонтерите кои ги сретнавме се навистина посветени на волонтирањето“, коментира Едвард во поглед на добриот впечаток што го добиле од луѓето. „Ги викаме армија“, смеејќи се, признава Елен. „Исто така, ВЦС постои околу 15 години – и се чини дека е навистина голема организација“, вели Едвард кој претпочита постари и постабилни организации бидејќи „вообичаено, тие се малку подобро организирани“.
Неговата сопруга се согласува. „Во САД има многу добротворни организации каде понекогаш донираш пари и не знаеш каде завршуваат. Сметаме дека организацијата е доста искусна, па затоа помисливме дека би било супер да помогнеме“, надополнува Елен. „Ќе помогнеме колку што можеме. Понекогаш ќе биде преку донирање училишен прибор, преку соработка со ’Воисес’, понекогаш пак, јас ќе помагам во поставувањето на штандовите“, набројува Едвард. Елен го дополнува со клучниот збор: разноликост. „Ќе ја одржуваме разноликоста бидејќи мислам дека ние сме ʼзрелиʻ сега, не го користиме ʼпостариотʻ збор“, вели таа, смеејќи се, „така што, можеме да понудиме разновидни нешта“. Освен луѓето, парот гледа со ентузијазам и кон самиот град – особено Едвард. „Ми се допаѓаат скулптурите“, признава тој. И уличните кучиња им го привлекоа вниманието на сопружниците. „Тие изгледаат здраво“, вели Елен. „Таму од каде што дојдовме може да се видат кучиња како гладуваат до смрт“, споделува Едвард. Урбаниот пејзаж е уште еден плус. „Знам дека како што лека-полека ги обновуваат зградите, се губи нивниот стар изглед, и тоа ми се чини интересно. Зградите ја отелотворуваат историјата“, објаснува Едвард. „Луѓето
ја посетуваат Венеција поради каналите, го посетуваат Париз поради Ајфеловата кула, па така, луѓето можат да дојдат во Македонија бидејќи Скопје поседува занимлива орнаментика што не секој Македонец би можел да ја разбере од туристички аспект“, заклучува тој. Двојката има совет за луѓето кои се двоумат дали да ја посетат Македонија – „дојдете и поминете тука некое време“, „нема да бидете разочарани“. Едвард, исто така, ги поттикнува македонските невладини организации да соработуваат повеќе со американските бидејќи „многумина би дошле овде да волонтираат“. Додека тие беа на пазарување, сопружниците сретнаа дури и американска двојка што волонтираше во Косово. „Тие сега живеат на еден час растојание од Скопје, во мал град и тукушто почнаа мал бизнис со локалното население“, вели Стед. „Помисливме ʼнели би било супер да вклучиме повеќе Американци, луѓе на наша возраст, бидејќи ние патуваме и со месеци понекогаш, такви работиʻ “, се прашува Елен возбудена. „Ние уживаме во сето ова, а и кучињата исто така, мислам дека ќе имаме убав престој и се надевам дека можеме навистина да помогнеме и да организираме нешто добро преку волонтирањето“, радосно заклучува Елен.
Руте Кардосо Превод: Кристина Стаменова
VOICES - 29
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