Nela with a fellow volunteer attending the children's festival in TurkeyOne thing that Nela Sinanovic is truly passionate about is reviving her community - a returnee settlement located right at the former inter-entity border line - to ensure that her own children enjoy their childhoods to the fullest.

Nela lives in Stanic Rijeka, a village in vicinity of the northern town of Doboj where she travels to each day to carry out her UNV assignment as the Youth Employment Counselor/Advisor in the Centre for Information, Training and Counseling (CISO).

Out of the pre-war 250 households in Stanic Rijeka, about 150 families that were forcefully displaced during the ‘92-‘95 conflict have returned to the village located in a valley surrounded by hills rich in forests and springs. There is also a river passing through which has resulted in stunning walking areas, but this nature is hardly enjoyed by its dwellers. Apart from the fact that houses and entire infrastructure had to be rebuild, entire area is still heavily mined. Add to this a lack of any real activities for children and youth –no cafés for teenagers to hang out, no playgrounds for younger kids nor cake shops.

This grim future for young people prompted one teacher to organize a traditional dance workshop for primary school children. She was joined by another young woman who later organized oriental dance group for girls, and picnics and outings in safe areas. The value of their simple volunteer activities was soon recognized by other women in the village. What began as an informal weekly gathering to pass time became a well organized volunteer-run Cultural Association with five different clubs for all children, about 80 of them.

When they decided to set up a proper group, Nela and her friends started by knocking on people’s doors asking them for old rugs and blankets with which to cover empty and cold attic they used as a space for workshops. “This is how we started. And today, our association has grown to include active traditional and modern dance clubs, a recital group and a theatre club.” Fully run and supported by volunteers and local donors, Association seeks to establish connections with other groups in their area with an objective to join forces to contribute to development of their community. 

Word of these volunteer efforts in Stanic Rijeka reached as far as Turkey. The Children’s Festival held in Eregli, a city on the Black Sea coast, invited and supported the participation of the traditional dance group in its April 2011 event. About 30 children and several adults accompanying them – including Nela - spent 10 days in Eregli together with their peers from throughout the world.

Back at her day job in Doboj, Nela helps young unemployed people aged 18 to 30 to increase their ability to successfully navigate the current economic trends of frequent job changes, additional trainings and even career switches. She is one of 19 UN Volunteers working as career counselors-advisors in CISO centres throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina within the MDG-F Youth Employability and Retention Programme. This three-year project is being jointly implemented by five UN agencies – including UNV - in cooperation with a range of local stakeholders.

Nela says she is very much satisfied with her job and an opportunity to regularly interact with young people. They often come to CISO centre without much hope or experience in how to look for or secure a job. First she talks to them individually.  “A goal is to learn as much as possible about a person: what school they completed, do they have any working or volunteer experience, what they do in their free time, did they apply for any job in the past and how did that go.” Based on this information, she makes a decision on what type of service is the most appropriate for a person – whether individual or group counseling, or participation in skill workshop. At the end, together they make a work plan how to proceed.

Though always busy, Nela is also very content with her life. Both her UNV assignment and volunteering in community make her feel both good about herself and hopeful about what future brings.