Bugojno: A town fit for all children
By Nineta Popovic, Communications Assistant, UNICEF Bosnia and Herzegovina After spending a lot of time away from the company of teenagers, a person tends to forget just how much energy they have. At the entrance to the Secondary Technical School in Bugojno, the noise was deafening and vibrated in the hallways. The adrenaline was almost palpable. This atmosphere also extended into the classrooms. And then, the teacher comes in, the lectures start and everything calms down. Yet the class we attended was not the average kind. It was actually a workshop which brought together 15 boys and girls of different ages, all students at this school. Although the workshop was conducted and moderated by Ms. Alma Brcic, a student counsellor, the atmosphere was far from quiet. A lively debate, on whether physical beauty was decisive for success in life, was quickly underway.
The students were divided into two groups – the “for” and the “against” group. They discussed the issue in their groups, trying to come up with as many arguments as possible to defend their position. Then representatives of each group presented their argument. This was followed by a question and answer session. The debate was on the verge of turning into a heated confrontation but fortunately, the moderator stepped in. The team arguing that beauty is not decisive for success emerged as the winner and their colleagues from the opposing team graciously congratulated them. "The goal of the project is primarily to provide support to neglected children and young people and improve their psychosocial welfare" Regrettably, these sorts of workshops and debates are not an integral part of the school curriculum for secondary school pupils, but only a part of a project by the local community from Bugojno and the non-governmental organization IBHI called “Bugojno – a town fit for all children”. The project is being supported by UNICEF and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, NORAD, for the second year running. The goal of the project is primarily to provide support to neglected children and young people and improve their psychosocial welfare. One of the most important outcomes expected from these activities is to have a higher level of positive behaviour among 90 children and young people, amongst whom difficulties or behavioural issues have been observed. In addition, a manual of the workshop activity is to be developed and a group of trained volunteers to work with neglected children is to be established. Ms. Brcic said the workshops are convened twice a month. The teenagers attending generally have problems of behaviour or communication or frequently miss classes or have difficult home situations. After several workshops, some progress has already been observed in both the communication and behaviour of the students. Also significant is the socialization factor, facilitated through these workshops. Of particular success was a workshop on violence in the family. Young people not only recognized and clearly defined the problem of violence, but they very openly talked about the problem in their own families. When asked about the impressions of the workshops, one participant, Ada, responded: “It’s excellent. We talk about everything. We had a workshop on violence in the family the other day. Violence is something that happens in my family and the workshop helped me to face it in the right way.” The openness with which she spoke was impressive. And if this is were the only benefit of this project, it would in itself be sufficient. 17 January 2007
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