THE CHILDREN’S HOME IN STRUGA

THE CHILDREN’S HOME IN STRUGA

Another children’s home to house the refugee children from Aegean Macedonia was opened in Struga, the People’s Republic of Macedonia. Here is what the newspaper “Voice of the Aegeans” had to say about this home:

“The ‘Gotse Delchev’ children’s home in Struga is located on the right bank of the Tsrn Drin River at the confluence of Lake Ohrid in Struga. This home houses the youngest refugee children. The home is located in two buildings, one on each bank of the river. It is impossible for passersby rushing to work in the morning not to notice the children’s stormy life getting up in the morning and preparing for their daily tasks.

The home was opened on March 1, 1950 and houses 60 children ages 7 to 16. All the children are enrolled in elementary and high school. Each child is provided with two pairs of clothes, two pairs of shoes and other children’s needs.

There are 9 administrators and teaching and support staff who run all aspects of the home as per the prescribed house rules and daily work schedules.

At exactly 6 am the duty pioneer blows the wake up whistle. The children wake up and begin their physical exercises. For their morning gymnastics the boys are led by young Risto and the girls by the female duty pioneer. The early morning physical activities, near the lake, refresh the children and make them forget their suffering in life. After completing all their exercises the children quickly go back to their rooms and make their beds. After that they wash and prepare for breakfast which is served at 7 am. After breakfast they line up and march to school singing songs. Each student is provided with all necessary school items; books, notebooks, etc. One hour before lunch and at 2 o’clock after lunch, classes are held in the home in preparation for the next day’s lessons. The home pioneer council has made a schedule for best use of leisure time. The home has a reading room and a library with all kinds of books, children’s magazines and newspapers. In their free time the children can read books in the reading room and play various games like ‘Don’t be angry man’ and chess. The pioneers have also organized various choral groups, folk groups, gymnastics, drawing, studies about nature and modeling. These groups are constantly active practicing singing, dancing, drawing, modeling, etc. Their achievements will be demonstrated by the end of the school year with presentations, exhibitions and performances. The physical education group has two soccer teams and four volleyball teams which will participate in various competitions. The chess team holds tournaments in the home and everyone can participate, including the youngest players. The greatest interest in playing chess was shown by Iano Liango and Vasil Pliaskov, two 7-year-olds who play strategically, study every move and follow the course of the game.

During the pioneering conference for the May 1st competitions all the pioneers have committed themselves that, at the end of the

school year, they will bring excellent and very good results; they will issue regular bulletins and will do volunteer work to keep the home premises clean. The ambulance course was also initiated during the May 1st competitions which were attended by 20 older students. The school teachers were satisfied with the results obtained in the class.

If there are possible occurrences of lack of discipline or rudeness demonstrated by children, as noted by a pioneer or by the duty pioneer and agreed to by the unit chief, those occurrences are logged in the command pioneer book. The command pioneer book is then read after dinner and all recorded events are announced; both good and bad. Those who have misbehaved are given a period of time to make repairs and are assisted by all the pioneers.

May 1st, welcoming the first day of spring, is cheerfully celebrated. This is also the day the children receive their new holiday clothes.

Since they are located right on Lake Ohrid the children, after the school year is over, will be spending their summer vacation on the beach. The children are cheerful with smiles on their faces. They spend their time singing and being happy. When the manager asks them how they are coping, they usually say: ‘Sir, we are happy but we need to justify our education by becoming real builders of our motherland’.

The People’s government cares for the children and has aided them in developing proper spiritual and physical characteristics which will help them to develop their homeland.

THE CHILDREN’S RESORTS IN OHRID

We have already mentioned that the refugee children from the various children’s homes spent their summer vacation in resorts. Some spent their vacations in Ohrid. Following is an article, as reported in the newspaper “Voice of the Aegeans” which, among other things, said:

“Traveling by boat from Ohrid to the resorts, the passengers admire the beautiful lake and surrounding area scenery. At first glance one

sees Goritsa (where the students are vacationing now) with its large syndicate resort ‘Ortse Nikolov’ where hundreds of labourers from across Yugoslavia vacation. But a little to the side is located the spacious building where the children vacation.

Happy and joyful voices are heard from afar singing songs. Here our youngest generation rests and cheerfully spends its time; Tito’s pioneers. This children’s resort was completed in 1948 and could accommodate from 250 to 300 children. The resort has a gymnasium, a volleyball court, a soccer field, basketball rings, water polo equipment, various toys, a chess hall with 30 folding tables, a library with 750 books, and more. The administrators also organize various outings for them that include visits to Ohrid, Struga, museums, the fish fertility station. They also take them to compete with other groups vacationing in the area. This way the children will not only be entertained but also educated; enriched by all kinds of knowledge.

The first group of children in this home has shown great interest in the sports competitions and in the educational activities. They competed three times against the local vacationers. In volleyball they beat the pioneers from Kaliste 15 to 0 and the “Karposh” pioneers 5 to 2 and 10 to 0.

The following is an indication of how useful this vacation has been for the refugee children: The first group of children ages 6 to 10 gained an average weight of 2.1 kg. Children aged 11 to 14 gained an average weight of 4 kg and the children over 14 gained an average weight of 5 kg. Thanks to the good food and clean air the children were able to boost their body weight.

There were 61 Macedonian girls from the commercial school in Osiek, 14 girls for the ‘October 11’ apprentice school in Skopje, 15 Aegean children from the economic school in Samobor and 5 from Zagreb. They are all happy to be here and spending their free time here.

On behalf of the children, Samobor student Stavre Dimovski from the village Kosiets, Kostur Region, told us the following:

“We were forced to leave our homeland because the Monarcho-Fascists, like rabid jackals, jumped on us, killing us with their artillery and aircraft, or grabbing us by force and sending us to Frederica’s camps. Here in Yugoslavia we not only found refuge but the people allowed us to continue our education in our Macedonian language. We are very close to completing our professional and school training. We are all taught something and have qualifications in various trades, which will insure our future and give us the opportunity to help our enslaved people. Back home in places, where the Monarcho-Fascists have control, our people are all doomed. The only jobs they can do are raise sheep and pigs, or work in the fields. This way the Monarcho-Fascists can easily exploit them and plunder their effort.”

On behalf of the girls, Olga Kaleicheva from village Morchishta, among other things, said:

“The beastly acts of the Monarcho-Fascists are indescribable. Among the many atrocities they committed, one cold night in March they killed my father and tortured my mother inside our home. You can understand why I could not stay at home, nor can I forget the crimes committed against us. Now I am in Osiek, along with 60 other girls from our area. We are all striving to learn and in a year’s time we will all be able to work in our respective fields. Among us there are weavers, knitters and hairdressers. Last year we were in Ohrid in the Goritsa resort and had an excellent time. This year too we will spend 21 days of our vacation here and then return with renewed vigour to our education and our work. We were never given such opportunities back home.”

Comrade Tanuera, the manager of the home, said:

“All the girls are lively and free. They all work hard and are among the top hard workers. They are also hard at learning. We have 11 excellent and most are assessed very good. Their teachers and the managers of the companies where they work are very satisfied with them.”