LocationsAssociation “Butterfly” (Leptir) Bugojno: Children and young people with disabilities should be included in the community as much as possible, because in that way we encourage the community to create conditions for their better quality of life
January 26, 2024
An equal and inclusive society in which children and young people with disabilities, socially excluded and vulnerable groups are going to have equal participation in society and in which their legal rights will be respected is one of the basic goals with which the project “We do not want to be excluded” (Ne želimo biti isključeni) was created by the Association “Butterfly” in Bugojno and received support through the program “Enable and Embrace Beneficial Civil Society Environment” (EMBRACE) financed by the Government of the Kingdom of Norway and implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Upon completion of the activities, this Association said that what they had done and what they were doing had exceeded all expectations and had a positive effect on their beneficiaries:
“We have turned their world around for the better, and now they grow up to be very good people, they know how to behave and they fit in very well and hold on to their integrity,” was the message of the “Butterfly”.
The project activities were aimed at young people with intellectual/combined disabilities to ensure their inclusion in the community, since, according to " Butterfly ", there are no social services at the local community level that would significantly affect the improvement of their quality of life such as daycare centers, personal assistants, psychosocial support, assisted housing, adapted transport, etc.
"We used different techniques and methods to cover a lot of topics and I can freely say that this association and work in the association is perhaps the only contact of our beneficiaries with the community that helps them to better manage their lives and to become independent today and tomorrow," said Ms. Emina Čusto, an educator-rehabilitator who has been volunteering for two years with the Association " Butterfly ", and the project she has been with the project “We do not want to be excluded” (Ne želimo biti isključeni) from the very beginning:
“We organized a large number of educational and rehabilitation activities and workshops through the project, which were related to social inclusion and empowerment of cognitive, verbal and emotional development of beneficiaries with intellectual and combined developmental difficulties. It was about achieving optimal user development, social inclusion, acquiring habits that are necessary for life and managing in your life, and there are many positive developments,”she said, adding that the experience she gained would help her a lot in her further work.
The president of the Association, Ms. Biserka Božić, pointed out that, in addition to working directly with beneficiaries of their services, it was especially important that the project was also aimed at young people with normal development who need additional education and empowerment in the field of social justice, as well as young people who are educated, aware and want to act towards positive changes and improvement of the position of vulnerable groups in their community:
“What is important is that we have also worked to increase awareness in the community regarding society which is equal for all. As the president of the association, but also as a parent, it is important for me that my son Ozren gets involved, that he is as much in the community as possible, because that is how we encourage the community to think and create conditions for a quality life for people with disabilities,” she said, adding that, among other things, the physical obstacles that children and people with disabilities face in the community are still a big problem:
"Ozren sometimes can't walk all the streets of the city of Bugojno, and he even had a conversation with our municipal mayor and told him "We won't join EU as long as I can't go everywhere with my wheelchair". We want our beneficiaries to be as independent and empowered as possible and to talk about their needs and how to solve their problems. If we do not work on the environment, there is no quality inclusion”.
Therefore, in addition to the numerous activities they carried out and implemented with beneficiaries on their empowerment and rehabilitation – 72 different workshops on 95 occasions, they also implemented eight inclusive activities in the community with normally developing children and youth ranging from engaged theater plays and exhibitions, to workshops for empowerment and rehabilitation:
"We had a play “Severin's Dream” which had the theme of the life of people with Down syndrome, and with it we participated in the Bugojno Spring fest, and we also covered three topics where we touched upon the inclusion of people with disabilities in the life of the local community," said Ms. Biserka Božić, adding that it is very important that future engineers, health workers, architects, etc. are aware of the needs of people with disabilities in their work from the beginning:
“That's why we have educational workshops for them all the time. We had 176 direct beneficiaries, 70 of them from high schools, who are future advocates of an equal community for all, because by getting acquainted with people with disabilities they will know how to create conditions for their inclusion in the community. We also encouraged parents of children with disabilities to think about secondary education and to be focused on occupations where their children will be able to fully engage and be affirmed. They should not only formally graduate from school, but they should also contribute for themselves and the community,” said Ms. Biserka, while Ozren boasted that he had participated in the play himself:
“I love acting, learning and drawing. I love music and I go to music workshops,” Ozren told us, after which he joined his friends from “Butterfly” and Children's Theatre “EkoArt” with whom they had an engaged activity that day through educational games that strengthen mental and physical health.
“We have interactive games and everything is set up according to different abilities and everyone can participate. The games are in pairs, “EkoArt” and “Butterflies” together, with jury and adding points. I think that our cooperation with each other is extremely beneficial both for children from EcoArt and for children from “Leptir”, and we have been working together for many years and we get involved together whenever we can. It is equally important to develop communication skills in normally developing children, as well as in children with disabilities.”, said Ms. Sanja Krnjaić, workshop manager from "EcoArt", while on the playground in front of the association was alive with boys and girls in pairs going through various ball games, and teacher, Ms. Emina Bektić, recording points.
Ahmet, who finished the third grade of the School for Secondary Vocational Education and Vocational Training in Sarajevo, also participated in the games, as he gladly comes to the activities of " Butterfly " whenever he can:
Ahmet told us: “I would like to finish school and work as a graphic artist or bookbinder. I'm fine at school, I get straight A's, and I'm never late. I like to come here to hang out, play and have fun with my friends, I like to act and I acted in the play ‘Severin's Dream’, it was a wonderful experience for me”.
Amila and Muris from EcoArt said that they were happy to participate in all activities with their friends from “Butterfly”:
“This is my third workshop, and we are so happy to work together. We love to hang out, have fun. We are all smiling all the time, no one is grumpy, and if we have a bad day “Butterfly” fixes it. I'm glad we're part of them, and I'm glad they're part of us. Every get-together is special. I was more nervous during the show than they were. After the show, I realized that we are all the same, that we are all equal. I do not see them as others and different, but as part of us as they are,”said Amila, and Muris added that he had learned a lot through socializing and working together and that he had improved personally:
“In March, on the occasion of the Day of support for Children with Down Syndrome, we did a show together with our friends from “Butterfly”. It was a great experience, and we had a few rehearsals together. We did specific costume design and set design”.
The presence at the aforementioned, and other numerous activities is possible for the beneficiaries of "Butterfly" who live further away thanks to the transport enabled through the project:
“Most of our users are from the rural areas of Bugojno, and parents cannot organize transport or financially enable it, and it is very important for them to get out of the house, live life to the fullest and not to be hindered by disability. By providing transportation, we also got more beneficiaries. We have users who are without one or both parents, and it is very difficult for them to achieve a quality everyday life, to be fulfilled, to find themselves, to have the fulfillment of their wishes, and their disability should not be an obstacle to them, but only an introduction to remove these obstacles” concluded, Ms. Biserka Božić, adding that they plan to continue to organize transportation even after the project ends, and that they hope that the competent authorities and the local community will recognize its importance and provide the necessary support.
The project "Enable and Embrace Beneficial Civil Society Environment" (EMBRACE) was financed by the Government of the Kingdom of Norway in the amount of USD 880,000 and implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), with the aim of strengthening the capacity of civil society organizations (CSOs) to improve the quality of services provided to citizens in local communities.
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