We are through with the questionnaires...
“It is good that we are through with the questionnaires as spoken word is irreplaceable.”, said associate Tomislav Lucic– The Center for Social Work Travnik, at the ending reflection after two days of education and exchange of experiences between the partner organizations in the Older brother, older sister program.
A seminar for the partners of the program was held on 13th and 14th June 2022 in hotel Saraj in Sarajevo, at which representatives of the 7 partner organizations from the 2021/2022 cycle participated.
Senka Cimpo, bachelorette of psychology and psychotherapist with years of experience working with children and youth, and former coordinator and associate in the OBOS program, was the educator on the first day of the seminar. Alongside her was Nerma Duta Bajramovic, professional associate for development and quality in the Foundation Older brother, older sister, as well as bachelorette of psychology and a psychotherapist in training, and former coordinator and associate in the OBOS program. Amir Hasanovic, executive director of the Association for the addiction prevention Narko-NE, had also joined one of the workshops. We talked more about the effects of the OBOS program on children and asked him for recommendations and guidelines regarding the children’s engagement in the program.
The topic of the second day was networking and positive experiences, and each organization had a chance to represent to the other participants experiences and examples of good practices of implementing OBOS program in their local community. Some of the themes we have talked about are the following: cooperation with the governmental and nongovernmental sectors in the OBOS program, support for the volunteers through the self-improvement workshops, group activities for the kids and volunteers in the program, policies of the children protection in the program, educational games adjusted for the kids with developmental issues, etc.
Associate Emin Alic from the Muharem Berbic Foundation had this to say:
“Even though I have been working in the same field for years, it is impossible to know everything. These two days of recalling previous knowledge and adopting the new knowledge, information, and methods were extremely useful for all of us. But the thing that especially amazed me was the transfer of rich experiences of all the participants, experiences that will undoubtedly prove to be quite useful for each organization and individuals.”
“The Seminar was a success, the atmosphere and participant’s energy were commendable. The best part was the exchange of experiences and positive praxis, as we were endowed with new ideas, understanding, and feeling that we are not alone in this story.”, said Amra Trebovic, an associate from the Psychiatric Care Center Sensus, and shortly regarded the Self-improvement workshop she presented to the participants: “To be able to understand volunteers I firstly have to understand myself and everyone who is working with people must primarily work on themselves. It is easy to blame someone else, so it is crucial for me to spread the message that we should always start from ourselves and what we can do. Naturally, to do so through fun and positive energy.”
Written by Ivana Radic
