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Kosovo Cap Project

Cap

On the July 4th, YES Kosovo alumni held a welcome home party for newly-returned alumni and to celebrate America’s Independence Day, remembering all the wonderful experiences alumni had had as exchange students during their year in the States.

Alumni also took this opportunity to promote the Cap Project, an effort started by a Kosovar student, Kushtrim Ahmeti, currently studying in Turkey to recycle plastic bottle caps in order to turn them wheelchairs. The idea began when Ahmeti met a woman who could not afford a wheelchair for her disabled son and thus was carrying him in her arms.

Aware of the thousands of people in a similar state, Ahmeti took the initiative of starting and promoting a recycling project to turning ubiquitous plastic bottle caps into wheelchairs, the same wheelchairs that would later be distributed to those in need.

The project now is now turning into a national effort in Kosovo. Many homes, institutions, and companies contribute to it. Apart from national contributions, the project has reached 41 countries worldwide. From these 41 countries, 7.3 billion kilograms of plastic bottle caps have been collected in total and 1,300 wheelchairs secured.

The YES alumni in Kosovo have been enthusiastic in their support of the Cap Project.  “We understand that collecting plastic bottle caps is a very simple and a very small thing to do as a group.  However, the outcome of this collection has far-reaching effects on individuals and society as a whole,” said YES 2010 alumna, Zana Idrizi.  “Considering the importance of this initiative and the ease with which collecting caps is achieved, we invite and encourage all alumni to start collecting caps in their communities!” 


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