Kosovo Youngsters Channel Frustrated Energy Into Feeding the Poor

The centre in Pristina is located on a small patch of land belonging to the Pristina Municipality in a concrete unfinished structure built in 1997 for the heating company, Termokos - hence its name. Both the municipality and the heating company gave their blessings to the initiative.

Since then, Termokiss has set up various clubs reflecting the different needs of various member of society.

At Termo Garden, for example, volunteers use the parcel of land outside the centre to get in touch with nature, learn gardening and find a new outdoor hobby in a crowded city.

Termo Garden has since attracted many volunteers who have joined to plant fruit and vegetables and build a greenhouse.

Buk' per Krejt - Food for All, another group activity founded by Termokiss, meanwhile inspired youngsters to ease the hardships caused by COVID-19 and use the resources of the garden to feed some of the poorest members of Kosovo society.

Some of the volunteers cook the food for the poor, others distribute it, meanwhile spending their time playing ping pong and musical instruments, or working on fixing the greenhouse outside.

From city garden to mouths of the homeless

Volunteer and organiser of Food for All Grese Lahu, cooking food for the homeless. Photo: BIRN

Grese Lahu, an organiser and volunteer at Food for All at Termokiss, is cooking the rice and will soon add the chicken and peppers.

Together with the rest of the volunteers, she will load the meals onto carts hooked up to bikes, where it is then distributed to poor and mainly homeless people in Pristina.

"Termokiss has been operating for four years; we started the garden three years ago, and for the first two years we mainly experimented to...