In 2017, the Macedonia Schools Project moved forward another year touching the lives of many school children and educators in Southwest Macedonia. The program formed several new partnerships and friendships.

This was an important election year for the local Macedonian municipalities which provide funding and direction for the schools. Cooperation with local governments is a high priority for the MSP.

Small grants

The MSP grant recipients always express much appreciation for the additional funds to supplement their meager budgets for supplies and equipment. While the funds are limited, the teachers always remind us that the dollars go a long-distance in Macedonia. This year we provided three $800 grants
• Vanco Nekolski School, Leskoec; for two new lap-tops for teachers’ use and 8 mouses.
• Tito School, Struga; for a new school public address system.
• Bratstvo-Edinstvo, Ohrid, for a laptop computer for teachers’ usage at the Koshista building and a hard-drive computer for teachers in the main building to operate with an existing smart board.

Volunteer teaching experience

The Macedonia Schools Project was delighted when Dr. Stevce Stefanoski offered his considerable talents as a volunteer teacher for the program this year. Originally from Ohrid, Professor Stefanoski now teaches at Benedictine University, Chicago, IL, USA. In his summer course, Dr. Stefanoski summarized the state-of-art renewable energy technologies, such as solar, wind, hydro, biofuel, and geothermal energy. The course was interactive attracting students from the Ohrid area. According to Professor Stefanoski:
“The presentations went very well! Students took their projects very seriously and gave excellent talks, beyond my expectations and beyond what a typical high school student would deliver. I believe there is an interest to make this summer academy an annual event.”

Boxes

MSP’s periodic boxes come as unexpected surprises to our grateful Macedonia recipients. Each box contains in-kind donations from our friends that include: books, chess equipment, colored pens, chalk, erasers, pencils, puzzles and games. This year we afforded postage for three boxes sent to Macedonian schools in:
• Vranista
• Misleshevo
• Radozda

MSP Board meets in Ohrid

For the for first time in its ten years, the Macedonia School Project board met in Macedonia. Located in a room above the Porta Café with a wonderful view of the lake, board members reviewed challenging issues. A key concern is establishing an effective way to transfer funds from America. Several years ago, we established an association under Macedonia law and a bank account. This year we changed our account to Ohridska Banka. The Macedonian NGO offers a platform for teachers and others to apply for grants. Vesna Terzioska has put in countless hours on this aspect of our efforts.
The board also indicated its strong support Professor Stefanoski concept for an annual summer academy for high school level students who have an interest in more college oriented studies. In addition, the Macedonian board members agreed that they could coordinate up to 4 volunteers in 2018. We would help cover the bus costs of students who live in Struga to attend the classes. The board also discussed how to better to get the word out.

Other accomplishments

• With the help of an anonymous donor the MSP coordinated its first building improvement project at Bratstvo-Edinstvo School. Three classrooms including the English Resource Center suffered from severe water damage due to some roof drainage problems. Through the donation, Emilija Paunkoska, worked with a local contractor to mitigate the problem by repositioning the drainage pipes and providing a vapor barrier in the ground outside the building.
• Tom was honored by an invitation to attend the Multi-ethnic integration choral recital at Bratstvo-Edinstvo School in September.
In April the MSP with Podkrepa, an American Bulgarian-Macedonian association of Portland, Oregon, co-hosted Metodija Koloski from the United Macedonia Diaspora (UMD). Meto spent several days in the Portland area meeting local Macedonians. He also addressed Podkrepa members at a special potluck dinner.
• Sasha Agapiev, son of MSP board member, Vasja Jordanova, began an extensive campaign in coordinating with other high school students, and friends to raise funds, sporting supplies, and chess equipment to in 2018.
Thanks to all our kind donors this year: Oregon Community Foundation/Speroff Family Foundation, Leon & Sen Speroff, Ardian Doko, Rick Lehman, Tom Lineham, Roger Wilson, Larry Lowther, Lenore Doyle, Jay Renaud, Vasja Jordanova and Tony Bouneff.