Submitted by Vernon Lowrey, President, Rotary Club of Kona Sunrise.
Exciting News! The Rotary Club of Kona Sunrise, Hawai’i and the Rotary Club of Prishtina International, Kosovo recently installed the first Rotary Peace Poles in Kosovo and Serbia!
Both Rotary Clubs have engaged in collaborative joint service projects for several years. In 2014, a Rotary Global Grant was developed and approved to facilitate the development of water wells for rural schools in Kosovo as part of the Rotary International “Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)” focus area. This initiative involved Rotary partnering with the “Water for Life” non-profit organization, based in Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i, using Rotary Global Grant funds. The Global Grant was the work of Kona Sunrise Rotary Club members Clifford Kopp, Vicki Kalman, and Derek Chignell along with Pristina International Rotary Club members Syle Alaj, Arben Hoti, and Kastroit Dermaku. The Rotary Global Grant resulted in 23 schools being upgraded to have clean water and prompted the Kosovo government to finish the project of supplying good water to all schools in Kosovo. Derek Chignell was Director of Water for Life Institute worldwide at the time and is now a Board member of both Water for Life Institute and Water for Life Kosovo.
In 2022, Derek Chignell, proposed an idea to the Pristina International Rotary Club members at a local club meeting, to install a Rotary Peace Pole in Prishtina’s City Centre, Kosovo. After nearly three years of persistent efforts by Syle Alaj through the Prishtina mayor’s office and zoning board, final approval was obtained in February 2025. The Hotel Metropol located in the City Centre of Pristina graciously gave permission to put the Peace Pole on their front lawn. The erected pole features inscriptions in both Albanian and English with the message “May Peace Prevail on Earth”. On March 22, 2025, the Rotary Peace Pole in Prishtina was officially dedicated, with Rotary International President Stephanie Urchick in attendance alongside Rotary Club of Prishtina International Club President Gladiola Kapaj, Rotary Club of Kona Sunrise President Vernon Lowrey, and local Rotary Club members.
Subsequently, Syle Alaj and Arben Hoti worked with Ragmi Mustafi, former President of the Albanian National Council in Serbia, to place a Rotary Peace Pole in the Albanian Community of Bujanoc, Serbia. Following coordination with government officials, a Rotary Peace Pole was emplaced and dedicated on March 23,2025 n the City Centre of Bujanoc involving local community leaders and both Rotary Club members. This pole features inscriptions in four languages: Albanian, Serbian, English, and Roma, conveying the message “Let Peace Rule the World.”
We hope that these messages of peace will contribute to reducing tensions between individuals in this region.
Derek Chignell, Water for Life, near a school water well in Kosovo
Peace Pole Dedication in Bujanoc, Serbia on March 23, 2025 with Ragmi Mustafi, former President of the Albanian National Council in Serbia, Vernon Lowrey, President Rotary Club of Kona Sunrise, USA; and Gladiola Kapaj President Rotary Club of Prishtina International
Peace Pole Dedication on March 22, 2025 in Prishtina, Kosovo with Gladiola Kapaj, President Rotary Club of Prishtina International, Kosovo; Vernon Lowrey, President, Rotary Club of Kona Sunrise, USA; Rotary International President Stephanie Urchick; Arben Hoti, Water for Life