Nurturing development in Bosnia: The Danka Zelič story
Danka Zelič presenting the Build a Village: Balkans program to a village in Bosnia.
Photo: Tatiana Dwyer/CWS
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By Tatiana Dwyer/CWS
Women have demonstrated a strategic role in development processes globally. An example of this is the story of Danka Zelič, whose energy is endless and whose deeds are highly appreciated by her peers. Her inspiring leadership and strategic vision have already brought a lot of change in her community
It was almost 6 o’clock in the evening when Danka Zelič and I could finally enjoy a cup of strong, but tasty local coffee in a cute outdoor cafe in the town of Livno, and reflect upon the events of a long day.
We had an intensive schedule of community meetings with twenty newly-elected members of the Village Committees from five villages. These Village Committees were formed to act as village representatives in prioritizing community needs and the subsequent related projects under the Church World Service (CWS) program Build a Village: Balkans, a multi-year comprehensive development program that seeks to address locally-identified and prioritized needs.
Danka Zelič is the Executive Director of Women’s Association Grahovo, in the municipality of Bosansko Grahovo in Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH). Since July 2000, when Zelič first came to the CWS office, the two organizations had been collaborating closely. Zelič describes this collaboration as more than a formal donor-sub grantee relationship. For her, it is a relationship founded in trust and built upon equal and honest partnership.
The relationship began when CWS guided Zelič in establishing a local NGO. Prior to the conflict in BiH, Zelič was a student in a vocational school. She was planning to complete her studies in 1992, but this was interrupted by the evolving conflict. During the war, Zelič went to Germany to seek refuge from the war. She returned to Livno in 1994 after the conflict ended.
There was an opportunity to work for the local police given the need to re-establish law and order in the post-conflict country. To pursue this, Zelič completed related coursework in Zagreb in 1996, and was assigned to work as a criminal inspector in the municipality of Bosanko Grahovo.
Her work involved dealing with a significant amount of domestic violence, both locally and throughout Bosnia. The inability of local police to address this issue inspired and motivated Zelič to set up an organization to deal with the issue of domestic violence. This led to the creation of the Women's Association (WA) in 2000, in collaboration with CWS.
At the inception, CWS worked with Zelič in putting together the structure, and providing training and financial support. During this time, refugees and internally displaced persons started to return to Bosansko Grahovo. The WA was in a position to support the process of return and assist the returnees by providing them with information about services and programs for returnees.
With only ten members in the beginning, the WA's membership has grown to 480 permanent members in the last seven years. Since its inception, the multi-ethnic organization has served about 3,000 people. Training and mentoring, initially provided by CWS, allowed WA to successfully implement various programs funded by the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR), International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), Center for Civil Cooperation (CPCD), Mercy Corps and many others.
Zelič speaks very highly of the CWS/WA relationship. When I asked her to describe CWS in one word, she said without any hesitation "Brilijant," which translates into English as excellence.
WA has been working for years with various international humanitarian organizations and with local government, seeking solutions for the most urgent needs in the municipality and providing a wide specter of services to many returnees and displaced families. Needs are still enormous, ranging from an ongoing lack of electricity, running water, and health services to high levels of unemployment and poverty in the region, which suffered great structural devastation (conservatively estimated at 97%) during the Balkan conflict.
Zelič and her organization want to help people in the community. She wants them to improve their quality of life by having employment, regular sources of income, health services, and proper education. Her talent to motivate people to action is unique. But she wants the people with whom she works to become pro-active in rebuilding their lives and homes.
For that reason, Zelič has been a big supporter of the concept of Build a Village: Balkans, and now is leading the program. She likes that the program is uniquely responsive and adaptive to the needs of local communities. "No one tells you what to do. All ideas should come from you," she tells villagers.
As with any leader, Zelič has her good days and bad days. She knows that she is the one who is blamed for any failures and mistakes. There are days when Zeliè is close to giving up, but then the next day she is again full of energy, and ideas begin coming together.
When I asked what success meant to her, she talked about her marriage and family. On bad days, she finds great comfort from her husband Miroslav and their family, and on good days, she is eagerly sharing her successes with Miroslav. They were married in 1998 when they both worked in the local police, where Miroslav still works. He is a serious hunter, and she supports him in his hobby.
Zelič wishes she had more time to spend at home, but her work is demanding. Leadership is not an easy job, especially in the post-war environment and predominantly male-dominated society of BIH, but Zelič loves her work with the Women's Association. Her free-spirited personality thrives within the WA, an environment conducive for decision-making that positively impacts members of the community.
When Zelič was a child, she dreamt atypically--of becoming a miner, a pilot, or a truck driver. Today, she is a leader of the dynamic organization that is nurturing develop and fostering local livelihoods in her community and broader municipality. Zelič's ability to dream uncommon dreams has resulted in her becoming a highly respected and recognized community leader. Church World Service can be proud of having such a partner, one who firmly believes that women share equally with men in rebuilding post-war societies.