The Big Heart NGO organized a Christmas celebration for single mothers and their children at the Welcome to Macedonia office on 29 December. There were treats, gifts, and a simple presentation to explain the true meaning of Christmas. A great time was had by all.

Big Heart believes that such small acts of kindness have great power to touch and transform lives in families and society. As a support organization, Big Heart strives to build safe communities by demonstrating love, providing positive role models, lending a sympathetic ear, offering a shoulder to cry on and extending a helping hand whenever necessary to help people in need discover and fulfill their true mission in life.

Big Heart was able to carry out this meaningful project with help from Christian Center 490 and Welcome to Macedonia.

If you would like to know more about the Big Heart NGO, please contact us.

Welcome to Macedonia has established the Big Heart NGO as a platform for community service programs in the country.

Lidija Janevska, President of Big Heart, explains “In Big Heart, we believe in the worth of every person, and endeavor to help people discover this truth for themselves. Big Heart offers friendship to the lonely, comfort to the grief stricken, and hope to the brokenhearted, helping them to overcome life’s most difficult trials. Our programs employ friendship, service and education to reinforce community, love and self esteem.”

Big Heart’s first efforts focus on serving poor single mothers and women in prison, two groups desperately in need of help but often overlooked by society. Sponsored activities include:

• Pursuing friendship with mothers and children at risk.
• Teaching mothers about childcare, hygiene and parental obligations towards their children.
• Educational programs designed to stimulate curiosity and a love of learning among children at risk.
• Contests to encourage children to think about behaviors that lead to healthy families.

“At Big Heart we believe all people are precious,” Janevska explains, “And instead of just saying so, we donate time, money and whatever creative talent we can muster to show the less fortunate that they matter to us. More than that, we hope our involvement with them will lead to transformed lives.”

Biljana Petroska, Managing Director of Welcome to Macedonia, added, “Big Heart is an important step for us as a company. It demonstrates our commitment to improving Macedonian society. We want our company to be a useful example of how to reach out effectively to improve life for the less fortunate around us.”

For more information about Big Heart NGO and Welcome to Macedonia, explore our website or contact us.

Welcome to Macedonia celebrates two years in business this month.  Founded in October, 2008, the company provides destination services to foreign companies, individuals and organizations working in Macedonia and around the Balkan region.

Darla Janke congratulated the team.  “Welcome to Macedonia started operating in the toughest business environment of the last 80 years. It is a real credit to Bibi and the team that they have been able to establish the company successfully. ”

Welcome to Macedonia provides a complete portfolio of services for foreigners including visa assistance, the Miracle Max hotline and administrative service, language training, K-12 tutoring, and online information products including Welcome Notes, the free monthly newsletter for foreigners in Macedonia.

Welcome to Macedonia is actively engaged in community service through client projects, volunteer programs, and its charitable NGO “Big Heart.”

The Welcome to Macedonia team celebrated this milestone with a dinner in the beautiful restaurant of Saint Panteleimon located in the heart of Mount Vodno.

Welcome to Macedonia has moved to a new location in the center of Skopje. The office is now located at:

Dame Gruev St. No 7 / 4 -3
Skopje 1000
Republic of Macedonia

(t) +389 (0)2 520-3380

“This is a great location for us — purpose built, centrally located, and functional,” explained Biljana Petroska, Manager of the Company. “It will really help us to better serve our customers.”

The space includes a meeting room for language classes, club meetings, seminars and other events for up to 15 people.

The company held an office warming party for clients and friends on Monday, September 27.

For more information about Welcome to Macedonia services, call us or visit our website, http://mk.helpforforeigners.com.

Welcome to Macedonia will sponsor a local Rockin’ English club for kids and teens again this school year. The club meets monthly at the Welcome to Macedonia office. This is an easy, entertaining way to practice English language skills in a non-threatening, fun environment. There is no charge for participation.

Rockin’ English is a supplemental English language learning program designed around popular rock and roll songs. Participants learn a new song each month, focusing on English vocabulary and usage. Club materials pick up a theme from the song and use that to practice additional related vocabulary through discussion, drill and games. Club meetings include a small refreshment.

For more information, contact Marija at the Welcome to Macedonia office.

Norwegian music students from the Nedre Bekkelaget High School led by the exceptional French horn professor Sissel Grondal paid Macedonia another friendly visit this summer. The company Welcome to Macedonia together with the humanitarian organization Marita and the Children’s Parliament of Veles were proud to offer their assistance in promoting this collaboration between the Norwegian and Macedonian music students.

The program included a seminar and two concerts held in Veles and Dojran. The students worked and played together, learned from one another, made new friends and enriched local communities with their music. The concert performances were a mixture of classical and modern pieces. They also included the popular twentieth century art form known as twirling, in which performers spin and rotate objects in an artful way.

The first concert took place in the Home of Art in Veles on 24 June. The second one was held in Dojran on July 9, by invitation of the municipality, in a lovely open air venue under maple trees close to the town hall.

After this wonderful cultural and educational exchange and small musical revival, both the Norwegian and Macedonian students said goodbye to one another satisfied and enriched through new experiences and newly-made friends.

We can hardly wait to do it again!

For the second year in a row Young Life Europe gathered teens from all around to complete a service project in western Macedonia.