NEJRA'S COFFEE IS NOT LIKE THE OTHERS: IT HAS A LIFE STORY

Although she went through difficult moments in her life, her smile remained the strongest weapon. Already as a two-year-old girl, Nejra was placed in the Home for children without parental care in Bjelava - Sarajevo.

"I was there until I was four years old. Then I went to the SOS Children's Village, where I grew up and finished school," says Nejra.

It took time to gain trust

After finishing school, she soon got a job and started living as a tenant. She worked various jobs, including working in cafes. She wanted to be independent. During her stay at the health facility, she found out about Sumero and the Community Housing support program.

"I didn't even know what Sumero was. When I came I was silent. I didn't want to talk to people. But when I gained confidence, I saw a lot of people who wanted to help me, and because of that, I also relaxed," explains this twenty-seven-year-old woman.

Involvement in activities

In Sumero Savez, she got the opportunity for professional rehabilitation, which will end soon, and thus this young girl gets the opportunity to work on the open labor market.

"I am happy that I have the opportunity to get professional training, that I am gaining experience. It's great for my better future. I like the fact that there is a lot of communication with the team working in Sumer", she says.

She is especially pleased that this is not an ordinary cafeteria where there is charge for coffee, but a meeting place for residents of various local communities and the holding of numerous educational workshops. She says she is grateful for the opportunity she got: "Sumero gave me the chance to succeed and I hope I succeeded."

She is in the cafeteria from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. And since she lives in an apartment complex with a lot of roommates, when she comes home from work, they drink coffee together, and then go for a walk.

"We go to the nearby swimming pool, play football and have similar activities. I made a lot of new friends. I am glad that I came here and that I met these people", says Nejra.

Sumero is a family

This young girl is also a self-advocate. These are people who fight for themselves and their rights. She recently talked about her life experience at one of the panels on the occasion of the Sumero Open Day.

The event was organized with the aim of discussing the process of deinstitutionalization and employment of people with disabilities, in cooperation with the partner organization People In Need from the Czech Republic, i.e. through the My Work project and under the auspices of the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

On that occasion, she emphasized that she considers Sumero her second family: "They are really there as support and whatever is needed. I can count on them 24 hours a day."

Sumero and People in Need have been working together for many years on projects that advocate deinstitutionalization and employment of people with disabilities. In many years of cooperation, many positive stories have been born. These projects are supported by the Government of the Czech Republic.

"I want to stay in BiH"

She points out that she was never attracted to the thought of leaving Bosnia and Herzegovina: "I want to stay here. Of course, I want to go to the sea for about 10 days, but I'm not planning to leave the country".

Her wish is to have her own cafe here because she really loves this job. She sees herself as someone who could be independent, work and earn, but also lead her own life.

At the end of this article, she said to all those who found themselves in similar life situations and circumstances: "Fight for what you want and you will probably achieve it".