BUENA PARK : Tapestry of Happiness by Children

Most of the students at Holder Elementary School are probably not well versed in the political ramifications of the civil war in far-off Croatia. Indeed, many of them probably aren’t sure where Croatia is.

But they do know that the children of Croatia are saddened by their war-torn life, and that’s enough for the students at Holder.

“Our teacher said the kids (in Croatia) are unhappy, so we made things to cheer them up,” said fourth-grader Jessica Lewis.

The kindergarten and fourth-grade students sketched crayon drawings, wrote letters and decorated a quilt with pictures of bunnies and rainbows. Tuesday after school, they gave their artwork to a Croatian volleyball team visiting Orange County to take back to the children.

The students and players were brought together by Sonja Hagel, founder of the “Hands Across the Sea” project to promote good will between Southland children and those overseas.

Members of the Mladost Zagreb Volleyball team, many of whom spoke only Croatian, sat down on the classroom floor with the students and tried to answer questions about video arcades, types of cars and places to buy Popsicle-like treats in Croatia.

The team is in California for a series of games and practice sessions and had stopped at the school between games. Rob Crotean, a former coach of the team who now lives in San Diego, arranged for the visit when the team’s home court in Zagreb was converted to a refugee shelter. The team left Croatia for the road trip to allow them to play and practice in safety, he said.

“They have had to spend most of their practice time in air-raid shelters,” Crotean said. “They have practiced in Italy and for a while in Russia. They played eight games here, and now most of them just want to go home and relax.”

When the team returns home, they will carry with them the good wishes of the students and deliver the quilt to a children’s hospital in Zagreb, the Croatian capital, which is not more than 20 miles from the fighting.

After teachers at Holder pointed to Croatia on the globe and explained that children there are in the middle of a war, more than a few students wished their new young friends luck and said they hoped to hear from them.

“I would love to get some letters back to our school some day,” said Robert Mosier, a fourth-grader.