Who are volunteers and what does it mean to be a volunteer? Read the personal experiences of the UNV volunteers in and from Bosnia and Herzegovina here:

Emina
"My first concrete work experience was volunteering for a local Sarajevo radio station. During that time I was studying Journalism at the University of Sarajevo and felt like I needed to do more for my education, more so for my practical experience as a Journalist. I was also very motivated to let the local community, especially the youth know that they needed to be more proactive and engaged in the shaping of their own lives by being more aware of their possibilities and the environment. All this was triggered by the feeling that my life was strongly impacted by others and the least by myself. It was the post-war period and it was difficult for all, so I felt like I needed to contribute to changing that. So, I felt I had found the answer in volunteering!

Later on, I finished my studies in Political Science in the USA and returned to BiH to participate in the recovery process of the country. I again volunteered, this time in the Union of Association of Refuges, Displaced Persons and Returnees in BiH and hoped that this experience will shed some more light and give me more insight into the past, present, and the future. Today, I still feel very strongly about volunteering and I believe to have received a great chance by being a UN volunteer.

To me, volunteering is the simplest way of making changes, statements and impacting others, while at the same time one is given the chance to gain important professional experience. Another important fact is that hands-on work opportunities are exactly what volunteering provides as well as the chance to do humanitarian work. This, I believe is a great combination.

Today, I am a proud UN volunteer and a member of a wonderful team working on improving intercultural understanding in BiH, as one of the main goals of the MDGF Culture and Development Programme.  I can only encourage everyone to do their little bit of volunteering."


Lauren
Lauren developed her interest in Bosnia and Herzegovina already while conducting research in Mostar on transitional justice for her master thesis. After finishing studies, she returned to the region, assisting various human rights NGOs. She felt that joining the UNV Programme was an opportunity to contribute to peace and development, while raising awareness about volunteerism. Her first engagement started in 2001 where she volunteered in an orphanage in Fiji. Although difficult, she renewed such experience in Italy in 2004.

At the moment, she serves as a UNV Monitoring and Procurement Officer with UNDP Upper Drina Regional Development Programme, based in Foca, a small town in Eastern Bosnia. She is involved in activities ranging from monitoring to reconciliation initiatives.

The major challenge she has faced as a UNV in BiH so far is the cultural barrier, which makes it difficult for her to fully communicate with people. “When working in a different culture, I miss some subtleties that would probably enhance my perspective and understanding,” she says.

Among the major contributions of becoming a volunteer, she states the following: “I am now more aware of the practical dimensions of development.  Also, I make a priority of developing volunteerism in the region, which I think is key for increasing civic engagement and enabling people’s individual ownership over their lives.”

An event recently organized for the International Volunteer Day enabled her to see the impact volunteers have made in their communities, and the satisfaction volunteering has on individuals. “The most enriching part of the event was seeing how many young people are volunteering, and listening to their personal reasons for doing so”, she concludes.

Nefisa  
Nefisa has been working as a field assistant with UNHCR in Gorazde since 1993. After the field office in Gorazde was closed in September 2004, she took an opportunity to continue as a national UNV, coordinating UNHCR`s activities in the area of 9 municipalities of South Eastern BiH and providing advocacy related to minority returnees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). 

Throughout constant contacts with the returnees and IDPs in the field she is trying to support and implement durable solutions to problems of displaced persons and sustainability of returnees through community development projects.

In close cooperation with a local NGO Vasa Prava her task is to ensure that people of UNHCR's concern are provided free legal aid, and she carries out assessments of people who are in an extremely vulnerable situation in collective centers and return locations. “Promotion of equity, social inclusion and respect for human rights are particularly valued by the most vulnerable and excluded categories of population that I come across on a daily basis, especially by people who live in collective centers and returnees in the remote areas,” she concludes.

When talking about challenges after more than 15 years with UN offices in Bosnia, she adds: “Considering the specifics of the BiH context and the large percentage of people living in extreme poverty, it gives me particular motivation to give my best in contributing to the achievement of the overall country goals. However, some goals (e.g. electricity re-connection to the large returnee local communities) require long-term joint efforts and involvements of local, national as well as international actors.”

And when being asked what the UNV engagement has given to her, her answer is simple, but strong enough: “Being the UNV gave me the opportunity to continue working with UNHCR and to stay in my hometown.”

Karla  
“What I love the most about Balkans are people,” says Karla. However, when she started to focus on the region three years ago, her interest was purely academic.  Only after she finished her Masters thesis about the international administration in Kosovo, she felt that she wanted a real hands-on experience in the region she had read so much about. After working briefly for a private company, she came to Bosnia and Herzegovina as a volunteer, being part of the first group of EVS volunteers coming to the Herzegovinian town of Mostar. There, she “gained insight into the challenges of working in a socially divided environment, and realized how sensitive one needs to be in assessing their individual impact on local community,” as she explains.

 Later on, Karla realized that in order to understand the complexity of the country, she would need to spend more time than the six-month volunteering allowed. The UNV opening in fall of 2008 seemed to be the right thing, and since the beginning of her assignment, she has been excited about the opportunity to build upon her previous experience, work in her field and learn every day from the people she works with. Through her engagement in both UNDP’s Research and Development Unit and the UNV office, she hopes to be contributing  to the recognition and promotion of volunteerism.