Security must also include good medical care

Prizren, Kosovo – It was with a little unease that the little boys and girls looked at the accumulated crowd: Safely tucked in mom's arms they watched in amazement the large crowd pushing along the floors and from room to room in the children's ward of the Prizren Municipal Hospital.

Although at the moment only their parents and, of course, the hospital staff knew, it was in fact the children and their medical care for whom this crowd had arrived.

In the presence of the Director of the Municipality of Prizren, Ramadan Muja, and watched by over a dozen media representatives, the commander of the German Kosovo Force Contingent, Brigadier General Robert Bund, presented the clinic management with a donation in kind worth 5,600 euros, which will significantly improve the equipment of the children's ward.

The donation in kind was made possible by the proceeds of collections organized by "Lachen helfen" (2,000 euros); by the project "Von Mensch zu Mensch" (2,000 euros) initiated here in Kosovo by Brigadier General Bund; by the military chaplains (500 euros), and by the proceeds from a charity concert at the Prizren Conservatory (1,081 euros).

In coordination with the hospital management, the CIMIC/LM company locally acquired medical equipment, pictures to brighten up the walls and a TV set and children's DVDs to distract the little ones a little bit.

The commander felt it important to present the equipment to the clinic management in person in order to demonstrate the solidarity between KFOR and local charity organizations because, as he said, a country's security also includes good medical care. "We have always felt that we are here to help, and we have seen that, in part due to the participation and support of German physicians, health care here in Kosovo has significantly improved over the last years," General Bund added.

Prizren Mayor Ramadan Muja and the head of the Municipality Health Office, Tyran Kosova, conveyed their effusive thanks. Both also agree that the medical care of the children must be considered a focal point of the region's health service. Accompanied by clinical director Lumnije Hoxha, the German delegation concluded their visit with a "sick call" in one of the patient rooms of the children's ward.

(Story by 1st Lt Eberhard Wenzel, German Army)