(5 May 1999) English/Nat
Children from an Italian primary have raised money to buy 500 chocolate eggs for homeless youngsters living in refugee camps on the Kosovo-Macedonia border.
The eggs were handed out on Wednesday by volunteers from the World Food Programme and by the mother of two of the children who launched the chocolate egg scheme.
Following the ethnic cleansing by Serb forces in Kosovo, this camp in Macedonia has become home to hundreds of refugees.
Nowhere is the anguish of the Kosovars more tellingly illustrated than in the sad faces of these children.
Many of them have lost not just their homes but their parents as well, orphans of a cruel campaign to rid Kosovo of its ethnic Albanian inhabitants.
However on Wednesday a small ray of light fell into their lives.
Hundreds of chocolate eggs - a luxury unheard of in the camp - were distributed to the hungry children.
The confectionery was bought by children from a primary school in Rome.
The mother of the children who came up with the scheme, was among those distributing the chocolate eggs.
She said her daughters were determined to do something to help the refugees, after she told them about the misery of the Kosovar children in the camp.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Now I went back to my country and coming back here I was given by the babies of two schools where my children go some chocolate eggs to be given to each baby of the camp here. So we have organised this delivery of chocolate to the babies and the babies in Rome also brought their drawings and thoughts for these people, wishing them peace and happiness and all the best for these babies who are in a very dramatic situation now."
SUPER CAPTION: Cristina Bongole, mother
One of the World Food Programme volunteers working in the camp said the chocolates gave the children a rare opportunity to enjoy their childhood.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"They are traumatised, some of them are hungry and I think the main thing is they just don't know where they are going or what's happening to them so I think that explains why they are over-excited and are just grabbing for any piece of normality that they can."
SUPER CAPTION: Lindsay Davis, World Food Programme
The gifts from the Italian youngsters has brightened up this day for the children of Blace.
But with food supplies dangerously low for the hundreds of thousands of ethnic Albanians who fled from Kosovo, tomorrow is likely to be another hungry day.
Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
