The Group Let’s....(Hajde da...)- From idea to realization http://www.hajdeda.org.yu/ Either because of what they are doing or because of their interesting name, the group “Hajde Da” has attracted our attention from the first time we learned about them. So we said “Let’s do an interview”. Here we bring it to you. This interview was conducted with Dragana Lalic of the organization 'Hajde Da'= Let's...... Evokako: From your website one can see that you founded the group during the NATO bombing of 1999 and "out of the strong need to be proactive in the society and time that you are living in”. How did you get this idea and what happened next? Hajde da: At about 20 days from the beginning of the bombing Marko’s friend called him, suggesting that they make a website on which they would put children’s drawings expressing their emotions and what they felt was happening.. Marko thought that such a one time action would not amount to much and instead invited more people that he knew would be interested in such an action. He also invited others he had talked to about our position in the whole bombardment and how passive and meaningless it was, suggesting to both groups that he would like to do something proactive that would be useful and helpful to others. At the first meeting we decided to design and organize a workshop on emotions that would help children to cope with and overcome the negative feelings and fear they experienced during the bombing. The next meeting happened in a kindergarden where we founded a group of nine members. From there on the meetings became regular and we developed the program for psychosocial workshop, later called the “Alphabet of emotions” (see the website www.hajdeda.org.yu under ‘finished projects’). These meetings and this type of work, in addition to the fact that we created something we believed in, gave us the strength to deal with extraordinary - and even today unexplainable - situation of being bombarded daily for seventy-eight days. When we finished this program, with the help of the “Friends of Children, Serbia” (Prijatelji Dece Srbije), who provided us space for workshops and helped us gather the children’s groups, we actually carried and evaluated those workshops. Meanwhile the name came up (Darko has a knack for catchy slogans) and with continuation of the meeting the group progressed. We believed that this program was good and needed and thus we offered it to all the schools in the country. At the end of summer we were writing grant proposals, fundraising money, contacting schools in September and in the end we registered the organization formally. As you can see we didn’t really need to attract the members. We found each other on similar needs and interests, personal and professional. We all previously worked either on education or psychosocial work with real people, mostly children. Once we found each other it never crossed our mind to part. J It may sound like a joke but once you see us you would see what a good human atmosphere we have. But the most important factor for staying together was the belief of all of us that a positive change is possible and that what we are doing is meaningful and valuable. Evokako: Where are your offices and is this your full time job? Hajde da: Our offices are located in Sarajevska 70, Belgrade but for a long time at the beginning we held our meetings in coffee shops and clubs wherever we could meet. None of us works full time for Hajde Da. We all have other jobs except a few of us who still live at home and have to worry how to survive between projects. Evokako: What does a typical day look like at Hajde Da? Hajde da: There is no typical day really. Lately there is lots of work so we usually decide on teams and projects and we all work on organizational and creative tasks. Evokako: What do you consider to be your biggest success so far? Hajde da: It’s a hard question. I feel we all should answer it individually but most people are out for the holidays. Personally, I feel our work in Kraljevo, with internally displaced people from Kosovo, was our most successful project – maybe because I considered it the most challenging one. This project lasted seven months and in the end we could clearly see that we achieved something along with those people. Unfortunately we couldn’t solve their existential problems (which was not our goal) but for all of the people we worked with (children of 3 group ages, teenagers and mothers) we had a significant effect on their emotional wellbeing. Also, The Alphabet of Emotion, that was officially accredited by The Ministry of Education, and our training of the psychosocial workers as a crown of all our previous work in this field. But in general, our biggest success is to be there for people in need of our services. Evokako: We all know how important is fundraising, what are your experiences with it? Who was the most understanding of your needs and what is the general state of the non-profit sector in Serbia? Hajde da: Our experiences vary. Sometimes we were able to find the donors who right away understood us and gave us money and other times we needed to include more buzzwords such as ‘human rights’ etc. so that the project could be packaged differently. And then there were times when we wouldn’t get money for various reasons. The most common situation in practice was that donors aren’t there to understand our needs but rather to pursue their strategies. Thus, when we were able to align ourselves with their goals it went smoother. If not, often times we did not receive funding. For example, Norwegian Peoples Aid helped us with office space and furnishing without many questions. Another good example was our “Alphabet of the Emotions” project with the “Save the Children” foundation, which was funded within days. Conversely, we are currently fundraising for a seminar on youth involvement in politics, with many large organizations involved, where we are receiving much positive feedback – but no funding and only days to go before opening. As for the employees of various foundations, things are changing. Until the changed regime in 2000 the foreigners were investing money into a parallel state but lately they are collaborating much more with governmental organizations. Now how is this important? I think this new attitude has brought better transparency and connection among all those working in the non-profit sector. This resulted in fewer opportunities for individuals to promote their own personal agendas. Things also depend on the politics of the country that the donor is from. Evokako: What was the response to your “Alphabet of the Emotions” project by schools and their principals and teachers? Hajde da: After initial skepticism that we were possibly a religious sect etc., it was positive. When we showed them what we do, and how, they really liked it. The schools have a huge need for this type of program. Sanctions and the economic situations in the country created a decreased motivation for everyone working in education (consider lower salaries for greater responsibilities, etc.) but teachers were aware that the children needed this even more than ever. They were glad that someone was providing it. It received the official accreditation by The Ministry of Education. Evokako: What is your general opinion about the needs of those kids you work with? Do you work exclusively with socially deprived children? Hajde da: No, we work with the all children, as well as with adolescents and adults. No matter which child, all kids need attention, patience in dealing with situations they do not understand and playful learning. When you spend time with them you learn what it is they need and you include that in the program. Evokako: How is your collaboration with other NGOs in Serbia and Montenegro? Hajde da: Mostly through projects. We had great experience with Kvart from Kraljevo (making summer youth camp), Protecta from Nis, Center for helping youth from Ljubljana, Transfer from Novi Sad (Psychology students group), UMCOR (we facilitated meetings about resettlement of refugees to Kosovo), Romainterpress (all projects with Roma population), Ministry of National and Ethnic Minorities (on the “Alphabet of Tolerance” and in their Multicultural Center) . Unfortunately, we did not collaborate with anyone from Montenegro. It just didn’t happen on organizational level though there were personal contacts. Evokako: What are your plans for the near future and beyond? Do you think you will survive this transitional period in Serbia? Hajde da: Our plans are to continue collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of National & Ethnic Minorities, create new projects, raise funds through state and private companies, increase the number of our associates and volunteers and to start long-term projects such as training for NGO and decreasing ethnic inequalities in schools. There is a lot to do but we have a lot of energy and faith and things are developing well recently: we believe in ourselves. Evokako: What proved to be crucial for your success? Hajde da: -proactive spirit -volunteerism -diversity of the group -tolerance and patience among us -being open to new ideas -constant learning and above all -our ability to live in uncertainty. |