Dear friends, supporters and associates,

In this rather troubled time, we would like to share with you the joy of our 28thanniversary of many years filled with work and activities under all circumstances, years dedicated to helping suffering children, years of grief, but also years of fulfilment being aware of the fact we can be supportive.

We have left many years of work behind. In larger or lower scale, crises are an integral part of our history, and for one who is suffering or in need of help, there is no larger or lower scale of crisis.

We started with the Bosnian crisis and the need to take care of a large number of refugee children. We organised a flight from Sarajevo and publicly called for accommodating the children in Macedonia. We are still in contact with many of those children (now adults), some volunteer, and some physically distant, but close in their hearts, continue to follow our work.

We also worked in the camps during the Kosovo crisis.

We accommodated 16 internally displaced persons from Arachinovo in our shelter, families with 8 children. Three babies were born in this shelter - Aleksandar, Maria and Nikola. Families have been accommodated in our shelter for five years. We have organised summer camps for over 500 children, five years in a row from the crisis areas in Macedonia.

We were together in the flood in Stajkovci with a group of volunteers on the field almost the entire time. We provided direct assistance to those affected by food and medicines, and together with the PHI University Clinic for Dermatology, we opened a medical point in the Primary School "Kiril i Metodij" in s. Stajkovci, where examinations and medical care were provided to children.

The last refugee crisis led us from Tabanovce to Gevgelija, we worked directly with refugee children, we collected humanitarian aid, but we also tried to encourage empathy and understanding towards refugees through the manual "We are all children of this world" which elaborates on the content of the manner in which one should talk to children about the refugee crisis.

Within the “Macedonia with Love for Aleppo” campaign, we provided humanitarian aid, clothing and footwear for 350 children from five refugee centres without parental care, accommodated in Turkey's border zone with Syria.

This crisis is particularly difficult for us today because we cannot work on the field, directly with children. This crisis requires us to distance ourselves from the outside world and find creative solutions of how to maintain the warmth of human interactions while being socially distant. How to help someone from home, but also directly, in the field when it is necessary, how to find out who needs help? And every day we discover that we can, that we are here for each other, that Megjashi's work continues, whatever the circumstances.

Due to the state of emergency, the First Children's Embassy in the World MEGJASHI provided:

- protective equipment for medical personnel working with children;

- humanitarian aid in food and hygiene products for marginalised groups;

- educational contents intended for the youngest with the mascot of Megjashi “Bushavko” (Britsly – Shaggy);

- started a platform / FB group on the topic "HOME TOGETHER" in order to encourage creative and quality time spent with children in a state of pandemic. We continuously remind that isolation due to coronavirus is an opportunity for adults to use their time with their children in an interesting manner, filled with creative and educational contents, in order for children to feel supported, to understand the information they hear more easily, to be informed accordingly at their age, but not being overwhelmed by everything that happens. We want to encourage to sharing games, knowledge, humour, songs, drawings, short videos, photos... To show how one can be creative and fun, even if they are staying at home.

We hope and wish that there are no crises in the future, that people will responsibly and lovingly take care of the environment and take care of each other, especially of children, and that we will build the spirit of solidarity and mutual understanding with all our might.

The First Children's Embassy in the World Megjashi represents and protects the rights of children, encourages responsible parenting and respecting the child's personality, strengthens the civil movement for children's rights, children's participation and advocates for the functionality of institutions in the best interests of the child. Megjashi promotes peace education, developing active citizenship based on the principle of non-violence and nurturing diversity and equal opportunities for all.

A more just world for every child.

The First Children's Embassy in the World MEGJASHI - Republic of Macedonia is an international civil society organisation for the protection of children's rights established on April 29th, 1992 in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia.