Grace in Bosnia & Herzegovina 2019

These past two days have been incredible because we had the chance to work directly with the beneficiaries of Zene za Zene through our Democracy Academy for Young Women. Zene za Zene created the Democracy Academy for Young Women (DAYW) in order to provide young women with the tools and skills necessary to become more civically engaged individuals in their local communities. The ultimate goal of the 6 month program is for each woman to identify a pressing issue in their community, develop a project to address that issue, then implement their project with the help of another participant through a NGO in their community. The first training was exciting because the women had the opportunity to meet one another, and because they started learning about what the process will look like in the coming months. While I could not understand most of the modules and workshops, I had the opportunity to speak with the participants during lunch and during coffee breaks. One participant, Esma, is o...

My partner, Joy, and I received a list of tasks to be completed by the end of the summer today and we could not be more excited. Our boss, Seida, asked us to focus on the new website, selling Zene za Zene's products that are created but their beneficiaries (i.e. rugs), enhancing their social media presence, and of course raising money. Though it seemed like a lot at the moment that it was handed to us, Joy and I chatted and figured out where our interests and skill sets lie, thus we will both be working on communications, and I will be more focused on the website and doing marketing for the products that the organization is trying to sell. A step away from the logistics of the work we will be doing day to day this summer, I want to appreciate the work environment that I observed today in Sarajevo. Everyone is independent and productive, but we came together to share lunch and to drink coffee. I appreciate my coworkers and thank them for their patience as I try to expand my voca...

What a beautiful apartment to wake up to! If you're ever staying in Sarajevo for at least a month, definitely check out this website ! We have two living rooms, two bedrooms, wifi, a kitchen and dining room, and a bathroom. Everything and more that we need! Also the real estate coordinator, Timur, is absolutely fantastic and he even picked me and my travel partner, Joy, up from the airport. He also gave Joy a tour of the Old Town since she arrived yesterday the morning. This morning we met our coworker from Zene za Zene (Women for Women) named Nermana and she walked us to work. Not only is she an extremely sweet woman, but she is also very funny and kind. I was so excited to meet everyone at the office, and especially Seida, because I've interviewed with her twice before for the fellowship application process, and she seemed amazing. Today we met all four staff members, Nermana, Seida, Amela, and Belma - the stars of Zene za Zene in Bosnia. They treated us to some te...