VOA新闻杂志2022--Bosnian Children Send Gifts to Ukrainian Children

Hundreds of children in Bosnia-Herzegovina are working on a project that will make children living through the war in Ukraine smile this winter.

The Bosnian children have been filling small boxes with warm clothes, toys, candies and other simple gifts to be sent to the children of Ukraine for the holidays.

They are working on a project started by the War Childhood Museum in Sarajevo. The museum collects and saves personal records and items from children affected¹ by the war in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

Jasminko Halilovic is the founder² and director of the museum. He said its collection includes gifts donated by the people who had received them while growing up in wartime Bosnia. So, Halilovic said the museum wanted "to do something good ... to do something for children of Ukraine."

Sara Nur Spahic is an 11-year-old student at a school in Sarajevo. She said, "when I told my dad that we will prepare gifts for children in Ukraine, he told me how happy such gifts had made (him and his friends) feel when they received them," during the Bosnian war.

Spahic added, "I hope the children in Ukraine will be equally happy," while writing notes for the gifts.

Another student, Tarik Kulenovic said he put in small things that can be easily carried like candies and toys because the Ukrainian children "often must flee their homes within minutes ... to seek shelter in basements and subway stations."

Elvira Velic-Muftic is a teacher at the Savfet Beg Basagic primary school in Sarajevo. She was older during the war 30 years ago, but she remembers her experience, too. She said working on the gift boxes for Ukrainian children had her thinking about the days she spent teaching³ children who could not leave Sarajevo.

Many of her current students have also heard from their parents about their experiences during the war. Because of that, she said, they can understand how the Ukrainian children must feel. Russia started its attacks on Ukraine in late February, about 10 months ago.

"I believe that receiving these gifts will make the children much happier because they will know someone is thinking of them," Velic-Muftic said.

Mirela Geko works⁴ at the museum. She remembered a gift box she received in 1993 at age 5. It came from a 7-year-old Bosnian refugee⁵ living in Denmark.

Geko called it "a box of wonders." It included paper, pencils, crayons and sweet-tasting toothpaste for children.

She said, "It made me unbelievably happy, as if the war had stopped for a moment and only wonderful things were happening to me."

Words in This Story

candy –n. a sweet food made with sugar or chocolate

wonders –n. something or someone that is very surprising, beautiful, amazing, etc.

crayon –n. a stick of colored wax⁶ that is used for drawing

toothpaste –n. a substance that is used for cleaning teeth

basement – n. the part of a building that is entirely⁷ or partly below the ground

subway – n. a system of underground trains in a city

1 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

2 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

3 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

4 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

5 refugee   

n.难民，流亡者

参考例句：

• The refugee was condemned to a life of wandering.这个难民注定要过流浪的生活。
• The refugee is suffering for want of food and medical supplies.难民苦于缺少食物和医药用品。

6 wax   

n.蜡，蜡状物，震怒；vi.变大，增大，月亮满；vt.用蜡涂

参考例句：

• I wax my boots chiefly to waterproof them.我给靴子打蜡主要是为了防水。
• I wax the floor once a month.我每月给地板打一次蜡。

7 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。