Program manager Donika Sokoli works with Roma youth in Kosovo, providing quality educational resources to this stigmatized community’s children and sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ. Donika was born in Kosovo and became a Christian in the late ‘90s after Samaritan’s Purse provided relief to those affected by conflict in her home area.

In 1999, I thought the war had ruined everything in my life.

When the war first started in our country, I felt as if we were the people of Israel walking toward the Promised Land where we would have a better life. But during this time life was very difficult. My father lost his job; even before that we were a very poor family. Now with Dad out of work, things got worse.

We had a small garden and grew some vegetables that helped us survive during the war. From 1998-2002, I lived in constant fear. We were told to sleep in our clothes, with our shoes on, in case of an enemy attack. Even though our situation seemed so hopeless, there was a dim light in me, telling me God was in control. Every day, that light grew dimmer and dimmer, because I saw people leaving their homes, to hide in the forest for days without food. It made me wonder where God really was.

Our home had been burned during the fighting and was badly damaged. On April 27, 1999, the Serbs attacked my home and captured my father and six other family members. They were all killed. That day, I denied God’s existence. But he didn’t deny me.

Shortly after the attack, Samaritan’s Purse came to our village with a group of Christian volunteers from the United States who repaired our roof. They also invited us to attend a Sunday church meeting. At that service, I realized how much emptiness there was inside of me and how I desperately needed Jesus Christ to fill it. Until then, I had only known Jesus as a historical figure. I never knew he could also be a friend and a Savior. Jesus became real to me that day, and my brother and I began attending the local evangelical church.

The next year, Samaritan’s Purse returned to our area with gift-filled shoe boxes. I helped distribute these gifts, and it was then that God called me to work with children and gave me greater compassion for hurting people. Through my job at Samaritan’s Purse, I am able to help the Roma people, who face so much discrimination and hardship. I will write more about this community in my next entry.