Volunteering in Sarajevo January 6, 2008
Posted by hiddennotespresents in Uncategorized.comments closed
I decided to join the humanitarian aid effort. A relative living in Croatia threw out the name “American Refugee Committee.” I contacted the ARC in the fall of 1995 about working in their Sarajevo office. I faxed my resume, along with a letter indicating my interest, to the ARC’s regional director in Croatia. The regional director welcomed my proposition; as it turned out, the ARC did sponsor periodic “internships,” but these were not widely publicized and were available for the asking. Through the course of the fall, we arranged that two positions would be available for the summer in Sarajevo, one for myself and one for my friend David who was accompanying me. We would be working on various hospital and playground construction projects that the ARC administered.
When we got to Sarajevo, it turned out that the ARC’s Sarajevo office needed only one intern. David stayed on, and actually was promoted from intern to paid “Head of Office” when his predecessor left. I could have found a volunteer position with any number of Sarajevo-based aid organizations. But I decided to try another field altogether, and pursue my long-time ambition journalism. What better place than Bosnia?
