The non-governmental organization “Caplja”, which operates in the area of the town of Čapljina, was founded by the young people of this town. They came up with the idea of founding in the summer of 2021, while five of them participated in the “Older Brother, Older Sister” project. They had their first activities in the eleventh month of the same year, and their primary goals were to improve the position of young people in the City of Čapljina and the surrounding local communities, and to create as much interesting content as possible, especially for the age group from 15 to 30 years old.
In addition to projects for young people, they implemented projects related to ecology, recreation for the elderly, humanitarian actions, cultural events and more. The project “Youth for a creative and sustainable community” lasted from 05.10. until 21.12.2023. years. As part of the project, social game evenings or educational quizzes were held for young people from Čapljina. The president of the non-governmental organization “Caplja” Marko Škipina stated at the beginning of the conversation that the activities were realized in the premises of the Educational Art Center “NotiS” in Čapljina.
“Entrance was free, and for the best ones that evening (depending on whether it was a competition in board games or an educational quiz), we prepared symbolic prizes.”
Activists of this organization also held an education about the laws for young people in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and their rights, together with the FBiH Youth Council, which fully supported the Youth G(a)rant project.
“After the talk about the laws, we were able to absorb knowledge about what we had just learned in a tangible way with the game ‘Council’, which was designed and made by people from the ‘Council of Youth of the FBiH’. The workshop went well, and we all learned something new and confirmed our previous knowledge about the laws and rights that concern us the most, namely the laws on young people.
In the following, Schipina highlights the G(a)rant to young people. as significant financial support through which their organization was able to implement the aforementioned project, Youth for a Creative and Sustainable Community.
“With the help of this support, we give young people in Čapljina the chance to enjoy different social games or test their knowledge (but also learn something new) on educational quizzes that we have prepared for them every Thursday in a customized room, without the presence of nicotine or alcohol. In this way, we created the only place of this kind in the City of Čapljina for our young people, and gave them the opportunity to have fun, meet new people, and spend quality time with their peers”, pointed out Škipina.
Quizzes, organized as part of this project, are fun, educational and humorous, suitable for high school age. Young people are satisfied, because in addition to the work of the cerebral gyri, they have an incentive for the competitive spirit, and all in a healthy environment. Occasional prizes are always ready for the best.
Čaplje activists are satisfied with the response to all the workshops, but they believe that this is just the beginning and that the number of users will grow even more. Specifically, on this project alone, they had about 50 different users, and at each workshop someone new appeared, who found out about the workshop through their internet platforms or in communication with previous users.
Philanthropy and activism as a way to develop local communities
Young people from the organization planted 500 saplings of black and white pine, on the burned part of Gradina (the hill above Čapljina), and together with OSCE BiH marked 25 years of activity of this organization, planting a symbolic row of 25 saplings. In addition, in the summer of 2022, they compiled a survey questionnaire and conducted research in the area of the City of Čapljin, and with the help of the collected results, they created a Strategy for Youth, which should soon be implemented in the City.
“Together with the ‘Supercitizens’ of the City of Čapljina, they painted a mural at the foot of the bridge Dr. Franje Tuđman in Čapljina, a tree with palm prints of groups of people from the city.
At the beginning of 2022 and at the end of 2023, in cooperation with the Youth Center – Čapljina, they organized a humanitarian quiz, where they collected money and with the help of the Čapljina Red Cross, paid electricity bills for families in need.
At the beginning of 2023, they also started the project ‘PAGANINI – Center for recreation and relaxation of people of the 3rd age’, where two professionally trained people perform group exercises, physical therapy, massages, extraction of findings, and similar services to people who have no income or have a minimum pension completely free. The project is worth 60,000 euros, and is supported by a private donor from Italy, with whom they have a contract until the first month of 2026 (with the possibility of extension). As part of the project, they also make weekly visits to the official nursing home of the City of Čapljina on Domanovići, where together with about 50 users of the home, they exercise and provide the necessary assistance. Over 100 people from the town of Čapljina and the surrounding area have passed through the ‘surgery’ itself, which has been renovated and equipped with all the necessary equipment, in less than a year.
As part of celebrating the day of the City of Čapljina at the end of the ninth month of 2023, they organized a literary evening called “Sketches from 4 rivers” dedicated to writers and poets from this city. In addition, they cooperated with the Institute for Youth Development KULT, where they surveyed 40 people of various age groups on the topic “People’s attitudes about non-governmental organizations and their activities in the local community”.
In the Čaplja organization, they foster philanthropy and local activism, and they say that we should do good, so that we can hope for good.
“There are ups and downs in life, but if we persevere in our plan, we will come out on top. I invite all associations that are interested in work and networking to contact the e-mail udruga.mladih.caplja@gmail.com , with the aim of achieving cooperation on joint projects”, says Škipin at the end.
Despite the fact that they are a relatively young non-governmental organization, they expect to become even more recognizable in the coming period thanks to the activities and results they achieve.
Written by: Hazim Okanović
This story 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 content of the story is solely the responsibility of the author and the “Network for Building Peace”. The views expressed in the story do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
