May 2015

THE SECOND TWO-DAY TRAINING OF VOLUNTEERS OF THE UNION OF STUDENTS HELD IN TUZLA

TPO Foundation organized the second two-day training of volunteers of the Union of Students in Tuzla on April 25 and 26, 2015. Participants of training (19 volunteers) are students of the Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation and the Faculty of Philosophy in Tuzla. The training was led by Dr. Amra Delic, a neuropsychiatrist and psychotherapist from Tuzla, an activist in the field of human rights, dialogue and reconciliation. Young volunteers are educating themselves on these trainings to work with children and youth. The workshops' aim is to assess the psychological state of children and youth who have suffered damage during last year's floods, and provide psychosocial assistance through workshops and interactive meetings. A motivating video America's Health Volunteers, considering many years of experience of volunteers and their motivations for volunteering,is shown to young volunteers. After getting

acquainted with the provisions of volunteering, participants did the exercise "Unique and Shared," and the goal of the exercise is to introduce and build a team, which is also the primary task in establishing the organization of a volunteer group. Through this exercise are determined the common characteristics and capabilities, as well as qualities by which individuals stand out. A practical exercise through SWOT (Eng. Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat) analysis served as a tool for strategic planning of future volunteer activities. Each group of volunteers primarily requires a good knowledge of individual and group skills, and psychological and physical readiness, which is an important element in crisis situations. Volunteers are familiar with the importance of the organization's management of volunteers in case of natural disasters.

The second day of the training included the areas of: Psychosocial aspects of crisis and levels of support, Traumatic reactions, Concepts and theories, Reactions of children and youth in the event of natural disasters, and The role of play in the recovery process. Volunteers, through exercises and lectures, are introduced with the group interventions, coordination of volunteer activities and education of parents. Through discussion and presentations were presented models for trainers-volunteers who will act as facilitators on upcoming workshops with young people and children, in the areas affected by the natural disaster of landslides and floods in BiH. A "brainstorming" as a technique of working with children, drawing, talking about emotions, different games as well as ways in which the volunteers treat different age groups of children and their parents are introduced. Volunteers shared their experiences during last year's floods in Bosnia

and Herzegovina (Orasje, Zavidovici, Zepce, Doboj, Maglaj, Tesanj) in volunteering activities – the obstacles, problems and methods of crisis management.
A coordinator of the Union of Students in Tuzla, Irma Ramic, presented the Union of Students of the Faculty of Medicine and transferred her own experience of volunteering at the Crisis Staff during the flood in May 2014. Moreover, she presented examples of volunteer work in workshops with children and youth, which are just implemented by volunteers trained in first training in Tuzla Canton. The evaluation of this training points to the importance and the need for greater promotion and popularization of voluntarism in BiH, and the need to organize education of volunteers for action in crisis situations, through formal and informal education.