Association for Children and Youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina Juventus yesterday at the Home for Children Without Parental Care Sarajevo presented the informational “Where do you go?”, whose purpose is to make it easier for young people to live independently after leaving the care system.
The information booklet, which was created with the support of Catholic Relief Services (CRS), provides young people in Sarajevo Canton with information about all the important issues they face when they leave institutions of care – how to get personal documents, register at the employment office, look for a job, an apartment , manage finances, get additional education and the like.
“Starting an independent life is not easy, especially when leaving the care system. Many questions run through their heads and young people often feel lost. The information center offers all the information useful for life outside of institutions in one place, and we hope that it will help young people find their way more easily on the threshold of their independence,” said Nejra Omić, a member of the association. Juventus and one of the authors.
She added that the informant was created as part of the “Where are you going?” campaign, which consists of a series of activities, including the establishment of a mentoring program through which people who have left the care system will share their knowledge and experiences with those who are just preparing for an independent life.
Association Juventus has been in existence for more than four years with the aim of improving the lives of children and young people without parental care and reducing society’s prejudices towards this population. It is unique in that it was founded by young people who come from the care system, believing that they can best understand and respond to the needs of those with whom they shared their fate until recently.
“Few people see what we are going through. The goal of the Association is to fight for children and young people without parental care to receive systematic and adequate support and to be recognized in society as their support,” said the president of the Association, Bilal Kovačević, who himself grew up in a children’s home in Bjelava.
As Kovačević explained, they are supported in their work by CRS through the project Creation of appropriate solutions for active support of young people in care – STEP. Within the framework of this project, in the past two years, they organized numerous activities that brought together young people from the care system, and were aimed at strengthening their knowledge and skills.
“We are trying to strengthen the capacities of the Association so that young people can advocate for their rights themselves. Although competent institutions make great efforts to help young people who leave the care system, there is still a lack of adequate systemic solutions for their housing, employment, education and other needs,” said Đenana Mekić from CRS.
In the Federation of BiH, on average, slightly more than 50 young people leave the care system every year.
