“He who plants a tree, plants a hope”, said the great American teacher and a poet, Lucy Larcom.

As a climate-change conscious and responsible organization, MAAA has made a huge contribution and impact in bringing hope for the future generations with its involvement, as well as by undertaking many steps and activities in the process of stopping climate change and taking care of the environment.

Namely, MAAA donated resources for the reforestation which was conducted near Veles, in an area in the vicinity of the Mladost Lake. The action for reforestation was successfully completed on December 12, 2020 after Mrs. Verica Jordanova, the President of the Macedonian American Alumni Association and Mr. Ace Kocevski, the Mayor of Veles had agreed on all the details regarding the reforestation activities several months beforehand. The reforestation, which had been previously planned some time ago, unfortunately, due to the COVID19 pandemics was already postponed once.

The donation money was raised at the humanitarian concert MAAA organized in December 2018; the grandiose charity Christmas concert was entitled “Christmas in New York”. At one of its last sessions, the previous MAAA President and Executive Board members, Dr. Mišo Dokmanović, Dr. Doncho Donev, Dr. Ana Fritzhand, Ms Tanja Tomić and Ms Jovana Jovanova, decided to allocate the raised funds to reforestation of the Veles area in order to make a great contribution in making this area green again.

Finally, this December, the area was successfully reforested by some team members of MAAA who took part in this noble cause. Our alumni planted trees, giving life to the barren, desolate and burnt hills in the vicinity of the town of Veles. This donation will contribute to renewing the area around the Lake, since it had been utterly devastated last summer by a terrible fire which broke out and destroyed the entire forest area. The 26th US President, Theodore Roosevelt once said that the trees, the woods are so valuable and precious that they should be preserved in the same way in which we keep a great or beautiful cathedral. In similar manner, our Association, MAAA wholeheartedly devoted itself to the cause of preservation and reforestation, contributing to a better future for all of us, our children, and our children’s children.

Donation of computers to the Institute of Public Health

In addition to this, on November 19, 2020, the Macedonian-American Alumni Association provided a donation to the Institute of Public Health (IPP) in North Macedonia. The President of MAAA, Mrs. Jordanova, accompanied by Mr. Luke Zahner, the Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Skopje, donated laptop computers to the Director of the Institute of Public Health, Mr. Shaban Memeti.

Mrs. Jordanova pointed out that the laptops will be used to exchange useful information related to the Covid-19 pandemic among the Western Balkan countries, including Greece and Bulgaria as part of a project initiative supported by the U.S. Embassy in our country. Mr. Zahner expressed his hopes that the donation would contribute immensely to the fight against Covid-19 in the process of strengthening the partnership between North Macedonia and the United States.

According to the IPP Director Mr. Memeti, this donation is a continuation of the assistance provided by the U.S. Embassy and USAID to the IPP in reinforcing the capacities of the Institute, beginning with the microbiology laboratories.