The Association of patients with multiple sclerosis of the East Herzegovina region has been fighting for more than two decades not only for people suffering from this disease, but also for a better Nevesinje – they initiated the first adapted entrances to public buildings, the first toilets for people with disabilities in schools, parking spaces. The Network for Building Peace spoke with Branimir Tamindzija, the president of the Association about its work and successes.
Author: Mladen Lakic
For 21 years, Branimir Tamindzija, president of the Association of patients with multiple sclerosis in the Eastern Herzegovina region, has been fighting for a greater respect of rights for patients with this disease and their better position in society.
In an interview with the Network for Building Peace, Tamindzija, who himself suffered from multiple sclerosis, recalls how, after he was diagnosed, he realized that there was actually no information about this disease.
This realization that multiple sclerosis, living with it, is actually a condition that is linked exclusively to the doctor-patient relationship, without a significant social context, was the first step towards the establishment of the Association.
The Association of patients with multiple sclerosis of the Eastern Herzegovina region had 40 members in 2001, when it was founded. Today, 115 of them are active, although our interviewee notes that this is not the final number of patients in this region.
The Association’s activities cover the municipalities of Nevesinje, Gacko, Bileca, Ljubinje, Berkovici, Foca and the city of Trebinje. Please note that there is no cure for multiple sclerosis, but a number of different therapies are used in the treatment, which prolong the life and working life of patients.
So far, this Association has published four manuals on this disease, methods of treatment, self-esteem of people with disabilities, controlling one’s own emotions. Everything they do – they do it with the goal of improving the position of multiple sclerosis patients throughout Republika Srpska, but also throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“We are talking about the manuals “Get to know our world”, then „Self-esteem of persons with disabilities”, and „Controlling emotions“ and „Physiatry and exercises for patients with multiple sclerosis“, which were distributed to associations of people suffering from this disease throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina,” explains Tamindzija.
They offer education to the members of the Association about this disease, methods of treatment, inform them about going to the rehabilitation spa treatments, the importance of maintaining physical fitness, and instruct them about their rights.
“The beginning of our work was also accompanied by a lack of finances. We started with modest support from the Nevesinje Municipality, but that was enough to get involved in the work of other organizations, train us to write projects and become an association whose work donors recognize”, says Tamindzija.
Work for the common good of Nevesinje
In addition to the fact that this Association’s work is aimed at persons suffering from multiple sclerosis in Nevesinje, but also the surrounding area, it became recognizable through the changes they initiated. Tamindzija proudly remembers one of the first major projects related to the arrangement of access to public institutions so that they would be suitable for everyone – so that people with disabilities could also access public institutions.
“As part of that project, approaches were arranged, then pedestrian crossings and sidewalks were adjusted, and the entrances to two schools were adjusted. For the first time in Nevesinje, through the work of the Association, the school also got teaching assistants”, says our interviewee.
“I would also point out the project financed by the Austrian Development Agency, which relates to the construction of a day center for children with developmental disabilities, as important. We also acquired a machine for packing sugar, so the owners of catering establishments were offered to buy, which opened up job positions for people with disabilities,” says Tamindzija.
The Association also left its mark on the Aleksa Santic high school center in Nevesinje, which through their idea and project got seven parking spaces for people with disabilities, as well as an adapted entrance to the sports hall.
They managed to make the local action plan of the Nevesinje Municipality recognize and define not only the needs of people suffering from multiple sclerosis, but also of people with disabilities in general, which is another way in which this Association changes the image and awareness of its local community.
“The participation of the local community in our activities is of great importance and I am very proud of the cooperation we have with the Municipality, with the businesses of this region, the media, experts, and ultimately with everyone who is interested in our activities”, says Tamindžija.
Our interviewee cites an example of an action in which it was necessary to collect funds for the treatment of a young man suffering from cancer which shows how important it is for the whole community to support a certain idea.
During the action, it was found out that his family lives in difficult material conditions, with two other children. On the idea and advocacy of the Association, the media got involved, and through intensive reporting, not only funds for treatment, but also funds for renovating the family home of the young man were collected.
“The construction workers from this region not only worked as volunteers, but also donated part of the necessary material. In the end, this young man succeeded, he was cured, and the family’s other big problems were solved, all with the help of the people of this region”, says Tamindzija with an undisguised smile.
The examples of how this Association takes care of the needs of Nevesinje are endless. Our interviewee points out that, in cooperation with UNDP, the UN’s global development network, in the local community of Bijenja, the largest returnee community in Nevesinje, two sources of drinking water were built.
“On that occasion, the necropolis of stecak was also arranged, 193 of them, got a new shine, the terrain was cleared, and all the wooden material, the locals decided to donate to a family in a difficult economic situation, which had no firewood that winter. In the end, the locals Bijenja, they organized a big lunch for all of us”, says Tamindzija.
As he says, “all that remains behind us are our good deeds” and that is the motto by which the Association is guided.
In efforts to bring the life of people with multiple sclerosis closer to the general public and all the challenges that this disease brings, in 2019, an exhibition of artworks on the theme “My Hidden MS” by Amira Migic was organized in Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Zenica and Nevesinje.
This marked the World Multiple Sclerosis Day (May 30), and the idea itself came about through the cooperation of the Association with the association from Sarajevo Canton.
“Exactly the opportunity to learn from each other, to exchange ideas, experiences, advice, that is what is important for associations of this type, because only in this way can we be of help to each other, to help ourselves but also to society,” explains Tamindzija.
Our interviewee also mentions the action “Kindness is found in the hearts of people” that the Association has been conducting for 12 years with partners Nevesinje Municipality, Nevesinje Center for Social Work, Nevesinje Red Cross and the humanitarian Serbian church society Dobrotvor from Mostar.
“Last year, we helped 166 families in 8 municipalities and cities to share the joy of Christmas,” says Tamindzija.
He is also engaged in beekeeping, searching for a medicine that would benefit him, he very quickly became a lover of life with bees.
“In the last few years, we have given five bee colonies and five beehives to patients in Herzegovina, and last year we gave several beehives without colonies. And we are very glad that everyone gets involved in this story, because this is a healthy story, useful for all people, in the sense that they get out of the house into nature, and here they also have work and occupational therapy,” says our interviewee.
When it comes to plans for the future, there are many of them. As the most important thing, Tamindzija points out the involvement of more young people in the work of the Association. “I would like our work to be an inspiration, a motive for young people, first of all, with disabilities, to strengthen themselves, to start acting more actively, even towards their community. That they don’t run away into isolation, that they don’t close themselves off, but that they create some new good stories together,” says our interviewee at the end.
This article was written thanks to the generous support of the American people through the “Local Works” program of the United States Agency for International Development in Bosnia and Herzegovina (USAID). The contents of the publication are under the exclusive liability of its author and “Network for Building Peace”. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of the USAID or the US Government.
