Some 120 young people from different ethnic groups visited Albanian Mosques and Serbian Orthodox Monasteries in southern and northern Kosovo to learn more about the different religious sites and sacred places of each other's communities in Kosovo.

'If we are to build a peaceful future in Kosovo we must learn to accept each other's differences', said Mother Makarija, the Abbess of the 'Sokolica' Monastery, as she welcomed the children, reinforcing the message that it is important for everyone in Kosovo to respect their neighbours.

'I thought only Christians and Serbs were allowed to enter Monasteries. I was surprised to see how welcome we were and how kind the nuns were towards us. They told us that everyone is welcome no matter what our faith or ethnicity", shared Liridona Salihu, a 15 year old girl from the village of Koshtova,.'

In Mitrovica Imam Rexhep Lushta, President of the Islamic Council of the northern city spoke about the need to live in peace as instructed by Islam. At the Mosque in the southern city of Prizren children learned about the Mosque's history and its function as a place of prayer and spiritual growth for Muslims.

Due to Kosovo's ethno-territorial division little appreciation is given to what is regarded as 'sacred' by other ethnic groups. Its younger generation has little to no understanding of the faiths and religious practices of their ethnic neighbors. In the absence of understanding a vacuum is created which reinforces misperceptions between communities, especially among Kosovo's youth.

"It impressed me that the kids were willing and able to ask such insightful questions," said Michael Warren from UNDP Kosovo, an observer during the visits. "It's obvious that their experience with Kids for Peace has encouraged them to feel comfortable in unfamiliar environments." Warren went on to add, "It's not only by organizing these visits that Kids for Peace is helping to promote meaningful inter-communal interaction. It also fosters the respect, thoughtfulness, and critical faculties that the kids demonstrated today."

Before, during and after the 1999 war in Kosovo, Mosques and Monasteries were often a target of violence and desecration. Many of these were destroyed despite being iconic in nature, dating back hundreds of yearspossessing great historical value. In today's Kosovo, Serbian Orthodox churches and Monasteries are under constant security surveillance by KFOR (NATO) forces to protect them from further attacks while many Albanian Mosques damaged during the war are still being reconstructed.

Orthodox monks and nuns received the groups in the monasteries while groups visiting the mosques were received by an Imam. The children, aged 12 to 18, learned that religious sites are sacred places of worship that should be respected. They learned about the role religious leaders play in maintaining a healthy society as they stress the importance of morality and instruct people to live responsibly.

World Vision Kosovo is keen to support awareness raising activities such as this because they serve to eliminate false perceptions which often lead to false accusations and misdirected violence in Kosovo. World Vision also participated in a Municipal 'Traffic Regulations' education project in Rahovec/Orahovac, held during the first week of May. This was the first multi-ethnic activity in the Municipality since Kosovo's declaration of independence in February of this year.
The activities were funded by Eagle Down Foundation (EDF) and organized by World Vision Kosovo with the children from World Vision Kosovo's Kids for Peace Project.