Sarajevo's Center for Self Reliance and Bader Vests: Going from Isolation to Employment and Modeling

Prior to her participation in a "painting on silk" course when the Center for Self Reliance first opened in 1999, Tatjana did not engage in many activities and rarely left the house. "My life was monotonous; I watched a lot of television and my outside life experiences were limited to occasional outings with my mother and sister, on whom I depended for absolutely everything," she says. "It was very isolating."

Tatjana has since undergone a true metamorphosis, gaining access to a feeling of freedom and a "will to advance". In addition to other Center educational courses and activities, she has been an active contributor and beneficiary of the "Bader Vest" project over the past year. Achieved in collaboration with JDC and with the support of Dr. Alfred Bader, the project enabled the Sarajevo Jewish Communities’ non-sectarian welfare organization, La Benevolencija, to order 1,700 hand-knit vests from the Center for Self Reliance. This substantial order brought Tatjana and other participants with disabilities employed through the Center much-needed income while also providing a special gift to beneficiaries who received the vests through the Home Care Program in Sarajevo, which serves some 200 Holocaust survivors as well as another 470 Serbs, Croats, and Muslims who are elderly, ill, and alone. "My views on life have completely changed; I am gaining independence, working, and my feeling of self-worth is becoming so much greater than before." This is no small achievement for Tatjana, who has had to live outside of mainstream society for years due to her disability.

Born in Sarajevo, Tatjana developed cerebral palsy as an infant due to a temporary lack of oxygen in her hospital incubator. Following the diagnosis, she underwent a series of rehabilitation treatments at two different institutions and surgery at a hospital in Belgrade. When she came of age to go to school, Tatjana was placed in the "Special Hospital" in Fojnica, where she received both education and rehabilitation.

Tatjana had completed the first four grades by the time the war started; she returned to Sarajevo with her family ten years ago, where she completed her compulsory eight-year elementary education. "Unfortunately, I was not able to continue with my studies due to the inadequate accessibility of local schools to persons with special needs. I hardly ever went out; and every day seemed just like the one before," explains the young woman who, thanks to Center training, has refined skills and is now earning an income and feels that she is a part of society again. "Besides gaining work habits and experience, my social circle expanded as well through being in the Center. I am able to share my thoughts, ideas and discuss current issues with my co-workers," says Tatjana.

Among the unique achievements of the Bader Vest project, which culminated last month in a community-wide presentation of the beautiful hand-knit garments, is the pride it has instilled in the Center employees. Indeed, the workers produced a remarkable average of 250 sweaters per month during the second half of the year, meeting not only the demands of quality and quantity but also meeting the deadline set by JDC and La Benevolencija. Lejla Pasic-Ebner, Program Coordinator at the Center for Self Reliance, says that the project has "helped the participants to grow, increased their potential, and pushed their perceived limits. Their self-value also increased as they were able to directly help out their community by creating something useful to the beneficiaries of La Benevolencija and its partner organizations throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina." The vests will also reach organizations working with people with disabilities, enabling Center members to reach out to individuals living in situations similar to their own.

This is one of many non-sectarian initiatives carried out by JDC – largely through the local Jewish communities – with the support of Dr. Alfred Bader. These projects have helped to bring relief and restore dignity to needy and marginalized communities in Bosnia/Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, Israel, Macedonia and Serbia.

"I think that people with special needs live life in their own unique way, enjoying little things, precisely because even the most simple tasks demand more effort from them," reflects Tatjana, who continues to feel more "alive" through her participation in the Bader Vest and other Center programs. "Persons with special needs can serve as an example that life is not beautiful by itself; we are the ones who have to make it so."