After the first and tumultuous week in the camp and a teary goodbye from the Bosnian volunteers, the Swiss volunteers found themselves on a coach on the road to Tuzla, the third biggest city in Bosnia and Hercegovina. The bus ride was a visual revelation of the Bosnian countryside; rich green landscapes accompanied us, past little farms, troops of goats and coal-fired power plants.
In Tuzla we were greeted by Mihela Hinic, head of office of the local Swiss Red Cross branch. She took us to their offices which were located only minutes away from the bus stop in a nice, quaint house, close to the city center. Upon arriving, we were immediately greeted by Amela, another SRC worker who offered us cups of Bosnian coffee which our caffeine-deprived bodies absorbed with great appreciation.
In the course of this little coffee party, held in the bright and spacious living room area, we learnt more about the activities of the Swiss Red Cross in Bosnia and the office in Tuzla, in particular. Essentially, the Swiss Red Cross has been represented in Bosnia and Herzegovina since 1992, supporting the civilian population with emergency relief supplies. The end of the war in 1995 saw the beginning of reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts of schools and hospitals by the SRC with an emphasis on psycho-social support to refugees and internally displaced people living in collective centers. Since 2004, moreover, the SRC has supported the return in marginalized, resource-poor rural communities using a multi-level approach so as to facilitate community empowerment, development of good governance, and improvement of social services through local Red Cross branches. To that end, the Red Cross office in Tuzla offers computer or English classes to a whole range of people, informal clubs, especially aimed at women and young people, sports and cultural events. These initiatives have helped forge connections and cooperation among local communities.
Various projects also look to link community members and their councils to municipal administrations and to the Red Cross network in general by enhancing a mutual dialogue and local capacities at all levels. Citizens need to be involved in order to create local politics, thus the SRC offers leadership training, roundtable discussions, forums, and debates. Moreover, it maintains communication between municipalities and local communities and co-finances various projects.
Alongside these capacity building and community development efforts, the SRC in Tuzla also offers a wide range of other activities that focus on first aid, health care provisions and the promotion of human values through young volunteers.
All in all, it was a very informative and inspiring afternoon. We are very grateful for the insights that Mihela and Amela have granted us into their work and occasional obstacles and institutional hurdles set aside, both agreed that seeing their efforts being put into practice is rewarding after all.
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