Greetings, Today I’d like to update you on a project we first told you about here. A US team was working in southern Kosovo to develop relationships and strengthen community institutions to counter the criminal activity and Islamic extremism that threaten the region. In conducting their assessments and community outreach, the team identified a critical local need: the hill next to the town’s primary school was collapsing onto the playground, making the grounds an unsafe place for children. With your help, Spirit of America was able to fund the construction of a retaining wall that solved this problem. The project was recently completed, just in time for the new school year, and the unveiling ceremony was a big event. Dignitaries such as the Chief of Staff of KFOR (the NATO mission that ensures peace and stability in the wake of Kosovo’s independence from Serbia) and the town mayor spoke at the event. Check out the US Embassy’s post about it on their Facebook page here. Projects like this are about far more than solely giving kids a safe place to learn, important though that undeniably is. They are also critical in developing stronger relationships with vulnerable communities and demonstrating a commitment to the needs of those communities, thereby countering recruitment of locals by extremist and criminal organizations. Ultimately, that has a big impact on security and stability. You can still support this project by visiting the project page here. Thanks for being part of our team! Isaac Eagan Director of Field Operations