In the Guiding Stars project, volunteers, students of the humanities, are trained to work with children and school employees on the topic of addiction prevention and health promotion. Volunteers, through volunteer engagement, receive mentoring support, gain theoretical knowledge and practical experience, and develop capacities, skills and techniques that they will use for personal and professional growth and development. Volunteers are monitored and supported through group and individual meetings, and organized training tailored to their needs.
Educated volunteers, work directly in selected elementary and high schools to empower the capacities of children aged 12-15 years, develop social skills and healthy lifestyle habits and provide support in mastering educational content for children from socially vulnerable categories (poverty, developmental difficulties, endangering living conditions, children whose rights are threatened, children who live and/or work on the street, etc. In addition to supporting children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds in mastering educatioal content, volunteers also conduct workshops on health preservation and addiction prevention (healthy habits, prevention of Internet addiction and use of technology, etc.) The classes where workshops are conducted are selected by the school administration. Volunteers are requierd to keep a work diary on a monthly basis and prepare for workshops.
Besides their volunteer work in schools, volunteers spend 3-4 hours per week at the Educational Center of Sarajevo Canton, conducting various creative and educational activities aimed at developing skills in children.
Goals of the Guiding Stars project:
– Increased knowledge about psychoactive substances among volunteers, students, parents and teachers
– Reduced use of psychoactive substances among young people
– Developed self-esteem, decision-making skills, emotional control, stress management, enhanced social and communication skills among students
– Increased parental involvement in their children’s lives, especially in school
– Improved skills of teachers for working on addiction prevention
Schools where the Guiding Stars project is implemented:
Avdo Smajlović Elementary School, Sarajevo
Musa Ćazim Ćatić Elementary school, Sarajevo
Silvije Strahimir Kranjčević Elemenatry School, Sarajevo
Hasan Kikić Elementary School, Sarajevo
Čengić Vila Elementary School, Sarajevo
The duration of the Guiding Stars project is from October to June (with the possibility of organizing additional activities during the summer). Volunteer applications open in September every year. The Contact person is Kerima Delibašić (kerima.delibasic@prevencija.ba)
*Guiding stars (former name: Educational work with children at risk) is one of the projects that NARKO-NE has been impelementing since 2010. The project began in collaboration with the former Day Center for Children Working on the Streets, which in April 2013 became part of the Educational Centre of Sarajevo Canton as the Service for the Protection of Children in Need.
