World Vision is committed to partnering with the people of Kosovo to improve their lives today and to help enact sustainable solutions for the future of their children, families, and communities. Highlights of World Vision's programs include:

• Combining peace building efforts and small loans to Serbian and Albanian communities in an effort to bring them together and improve their economic situation.
• Providing grants of chickens and cows, along with microfinance opportunities, to families struggling with poverty.

World Vision began working in Kosovo in 1998 by distributing food, clothing, and relief supplies to people displaced by war. Since then, some major accomplishments include:

• Rebuilding damaged and destroyed homes in the late 1990s.
• Providing food, healthcare, shelter kits, tools, and stoves to returning refugees in the late 1990s and into the 21st century.
• Promoting a peace-building movement in communities through youth activities and interfaith councils since the beginning of the 21st century.
• Providing wheelchairs to people with disabilities in the beginning of the 21st century.

Geography and people

The landlocked country of Kosovo lies in the Balkans in southeastern Europe. Kosovo shares its borders with Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Albania. Plains, hills, and mountains fill the landscape.

Kosovo’s location between the Mediterranean Sea and eastern mountain ranges results in warm, dry summers and cold, snowy winters. Most areas have rain from October to December.

Natural resources include nickel, lead, zinc, magnesium, chrome, coal, and bauxite.

Ethnic Albanians make up more than 90 percent of the population. Serbs, Bosniaks, and other people groups also live in Kosovo. Albanian Kosovans are called Kosovars and Serbian Kosovans are called Kosovacs. Albanian and Serbian are the country’s official languages; people also speak Bosnian, Turkish, and Roma in some areas.

History

Kosovo fell under Serbian control during the early 1900s and became an autonomous province in 1974.

In 1989, the Serbian president revoked Kosovo’s autonomy and began repressing the ethnic Albanian population. The Kosovars rebelled, forming the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the 1990s. Serbia’s violence against the Kosovar Albanians displaced about 800,000 people.

Serbia withdrew from Kosovo in 1999 after experiencing a NATO-led three-month military campaign. After several years of international talks, Kosovo declared its independence in February 2008. Most Western nations have recognized Kosovo’s sovereignty despite Serbia’s rejection. In 2010, the International Court of Justice ruled that Kosovo’s independence does not go against international law.

Please pray for the people of Kosovo and for peace and stability in their country.