“There’s a house full of love in Tuzla…” is the opening line of the anthem of the Center for children with multiple disabilities “Koraci nade” Tuzla.
Upon entering this vibrant house, the first thing that catches your attention is the striking array of colors. After spending a few hours there, it becomes clear that those colors are there to brighten the lives of children and young people with multiple disabilities, helping make them joyful and colorful.
With the desire and goal of becoming a recognizable and highly successful organization in its local community, the Center for Children with Multiple Disabilities “Koraci nade” initiated the process of assessing and strengthening their organizational capacities. The employees wanted to build on their many years of work and effort and contribute even more as experts and as individuals, primarily to the users and also to the local community. The Center’s mission and vision revolve around its users. The satisfaction of these users, coupled with the dedication of its hardworking employees, has led to the strengthening of internal structures and external activities. As a result, the Center has earned the label of “inspiration to others” in its capacity-building journey.
Though they weren’t fully aware of their own capacities, they acknowledged that the well-deserved recognition provided them with a strong wind under their wings. Initially very modest, they now express greater pride in their work and the users who have been part of this process. They are starting to believe that they are making a significant positive impact on the world around them. Over the course of this one-year process, they celebrated successes together, shared their joys, worked diligently, and also faced their fears and insecurities as a team. In the beginning, there were fears about whether they could meet the demands of the organizational capacity assessment and building process. They often questioned if they would meet the criteria, if their efforts were sufficient, and if they could support their work with facts, documents, and results.
They recall the job shadowing experience at the Institute for Youth Development KULT as particularly memorable, saying, “When we left the Institute, we said that it was a world-class organization. We were honored and grateful for the opportunity to visit the Institute. The employees showcased their work clearly and transparently, and we are now adopting some of their ideas to create our own procedures. It was a very valuable and enjoyable experience for us.”
Different lessons were learned during the process: “We learned the importance of following steps in procedures and maintaining continuity, understanding that skipping steps or forgetting any part of the process isn’t an option. So, it’s essential to be systematic and ensure that everything is properly structured at the organizational level. That’s what happened to us, and we hope to stay on this path, remaining ready for future changes, adjustments to our system, and ongoing improvements.”
They are most proud of becoming aware of their own strength and motivation, even though they feel that the importance of their work and existence is not yet fully recognized in the local community. They describe connecting and meeting people as the best part of the process: “We believe that human resources are the most valuable asset in an organization. You can’t be a successful organization without people who genuinely want to contribute to their community. That’s the most beautiful outcome of such collaborations—connecting people, sharing experiences, and exchanging information, knowledge, and skills.”
Everyone needs and appreciates support. The type of support the Institute provided was crucial for helping the employees understand the organization’s strengths and weaknesses. They believe that new paths, visions, and ideas have opened up, which will allow them to continue supporting children and young people and improving their quality of life by upholding human and children’s rights. Strong partnerships provide organizations with the strength and motivation to move forward, while also creating a lot of opportunities for cooperation and joint action. Partnerships that the Association had before this process have been renewed and collaborations have increased, such as the partnership with the Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation in Tuzla. The Association states that, thanks to the Institute’s trainings, they reached out to new collaborators and, through connections with business organizations, secured support from the business sector and the Islamic community. They proudly note that they have formalized their collaboration with a written memorandum of cooperation, turning what was once a verbal agreement into an official document.
This Association did not focus too much on advocacy activities. They initially believed that their organization was not suited for political engagement and did not focus on advocacy. However, new challenges arose, leading them to initiate an advocacy campaign to secure funding from the cantonal government budget. With courage and determination and supported by others, the dedicated team from the Association has begun planning their next steps.
“Thanks to the Institute, we feel that the Association is strong enough to start and sustain this process. A year ago, we were hesitant to engage in such processes because we felt we lacked the capacity, but this year has definitely changed that. The Institute is like our guiding hand, offering support and saying, ‘Don’t worry, it will be fine, and you can do it.’ And it always turns out to be true,” says one of the employees.
The Institute’s employees offered them motivation from the start. The organization recalled an experience from two years ago at one of the Institute’s training sessions. One of their employees recalls: “I approached an Institute staff member, handed her our leaflet, introduced myself, and mentioned we weren’t yet part of the process. She responded: ‘We recognized your worth.’ I mean, someone knew us better than we knew ourselves. After that, there was a presentation about the KULT/POK tool, and we decided to join. At the conference in Sarajevo, we were the organization everyone was talking about. People came up to us because they knew about our work. All this happened thanks to our cooperation with the Institute. However, when someone says, ‘You did this differently; it’s unique to your organization,’ you feel valued and recognized. It means someone really knows and appreciates your work,” says another employee proudly.
After this experience and their well-deserved results, they encourage other organizations not to be afraid, assuring them that progress is guaranteed. They believe that this process has no drawbacks and will positively impact the development and direction of organizations. They also think that organizations need encouragement, mentoring, and support to strengthen their capacities.
We wrap up the conversation with laughter as one of the employees cheerfully remarks, “Now we’re giants! Thanks to the Institute, we have become a household name in our community.”
A proud voice echoes through the hallway: “The sky’s the limit!”
You can read more about organizational capacity building program HERE, and if you have any questions, you can reach out via email to selma.sljivo@mladi.org.
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