Farewell words from Maëliss and Vlera

It has been six months since Maeliss Bencheikh and Vlera Hajdini have been working at PLAY International in Kosovo, and today was their last day at work. 

We bid a bitter-sweet goodbye to Vlera, who will continue her masters studies in theoretical Physics in Germany and to Maëliss who is embarking on a new adventure in a Peace Studies master degree in Italy. 

PLAY International Kosovo, has seen it's fair share of dedicated, passionate and virtuous members, but Vlera and Maëliss both shine their everlasting unique lights in all these qualities. 

On any given day, you could see Vlera, a debate club veteran, having long lasting hours of phone conversations with many, many partners and beneficiaries, among which she always created time to care for her plants. Thanks to her amazing work, PLAY International Kosovo found perfect matches in it's partnerships. Our meetings, our brainstorming-sessions and our conversations in our lovely balcony, will always remain slightly in need of hearing her on-point questions and analysis.

Maëliss's absolute refusal of compromising anything in quality became a persistent force of drive for everybody to do better. Thanks to her creativity and her immaculate attention to detail, PLAY was able to offer truly amazing moments to it's beneficiaries.

We will dearly miss Maëliss's arrivals to the office, which lit everyone up with energy bursts. 

Let's hear how they have felt working for PLAY, as their farewell words.

“Well…we can both start by saying that our experience at PLAY exceeded our prior expectations!”

Vlera proceeds with elaborating her fortuitous experience:

“Frankly, when I first applied to this job position, I did not think It would grow me this much. I imagined having an average work experience, I had just graduated, and I thought of my job as the work practice you are supposed to encounter eventually in your adult life… However, now that I am on my last day of work here, I can’t help but ponder on how much this workplace has helped me grow personally by gaining confidence in dealing with problems of many kinds and learning how many institutions of my country work."

Meanwhile Maëliss's words display realization of a long-lasting dream: 

“I was dreaming to work at PLAY International during my study years. Covid did not facilitate the process, but I was more than happy to begin my work in Kosovo! I knew the impact of PLAY on the field but the impact on my personal and professional life has been huge and made me grow in so many ways: working in an international NGO, deeply learning about PLAY methods, participating to the creation of new pedagogical contents, having unique experience on the field sharing precious moments and experience with PLAY volunteers, making progress in English, discover cultures in Kosovo and Balkan Countries, achieve some knowledge in a 5th language such as Albanian!”

We ask what they thought about the PLAY’s mission and methodologies:

“We both are mesmerized by our experimental approach in using sports as tool for education and social change and we feel so grateful that we had the chance to learn more about it and its implementation, as we were on the heard of coordination and preparation for the activities”

A glimpse of melancholy surfaces in both of them among passionate and excited words about their experience at PLAY. They say that even though six months might seem like a short time, they have both experienced it in an intense way. Among all of the elements of the work, the diversity of our missions and plenty of motivated young people they got to meet at this time, had created a vivid experience.

The conversation moves on to their reminiscing their work together:

“What connected us was communications task, but to deal with communications we had to have content, and seeking it meant experiencing it. Starting from trainings, were we met so many volunteers with exceptional eagerness, then implementation of activities where we encountered [self-motivated commitment], to experiencing feeling proud that PLAY methodology touches so many lives and strives to tackle so many social challenges in Kosovo.”

In conclusion Vlera and Maëliss leave us with a hopeful thought:

“We are very grateful to have met all of the Players in Kosovo with all their different personalities and characters, we will truly miss it all and we promise to always be full supporters of this PLAY approach...”