Growing up, many teenagers find that they want to travel in hopes of discovering something new.
They also want to find a way to help individuals in need.
I have been working with the CEO of the Safe Haven Project for almost two years to help start the Youth Futures International Serve and Learn trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina because although Bosnia has come a long way since its war for independence, it still has a long way to go.
I would love to see participants of Youth Futures International be a part of the journey ahead.
Youth Futures International started in early 2009 after interest in the Safe Haven Project in Ghana grew. With that growth, it was evident that Youth Futures International needed an identity of its own.
I was inspired by CEO Dave Butlerâs speech at the National Youth Leadership Forum in Los Angeles about the program in Ghana, and I contacted him shortly afterward about my interest in starting a program in my home country of Bosnia in 2011.
Since then, I have been working with Butler, along with Nina Rokvic, a Bosnian peer from Kentucky, in starting this program. It is now finally becoming a reality.
Students who participate in the program will be learning not only about the recent history of the country, but about working in unison with others in the community to help implement and develop leadership activities, as well as public health initiatives to educate and prevent a variety of illnesses, while learning about stigma reduction.
Students will be visiting hospitals, working with emotionally and mentally challenged individuals, and working with children in orphanages, as well as sightseeing.
I would love to see more peers from my community join me in this program. I was born in Sarajevo, and came to live in the United States after the war.![]()
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