My volunteering at Svitac (Firefly) – Vlatko Mircheski, Macedonia

My name is Vlatko. I currently study Psychology at the International Slavic University, which is based in my home country of Macedonia. I was looking forward to coming to Brčko District to work with Svitac (Firefly) as a European Voluntary Service (EVS) volunteer. It was a new experience and a big challenge for me. I committed to work here for three months.

In my daily work at Svitac (Firefly) I worked with both the younger (4-7) and older (8-14) age-groups. I helped out with daily workshop activities, which focused upon arts and crafts, English language learning and recreational games. I also organised my own evening events which helped local people to learn about Macedonian culture.

I also helped local and international volunteers with their activities. Because I knew the local language, I was able to help international volunteers with translation – I helped to prepare posters and other written communications which were put on display in Brčko Youth Centre.

I found the District to be a beautiful place and everybody that I met in the town was friendly. I met local people and volunteers, along with people from my home country who live in the District. I met a lot of local people and this gave me the chance to improve my Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian, each of which are official languages spoken in this part of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

During my free time, I had the chance to visit Bijeljina and Tuzla, along with Sarajevo, the national capital. I also attended cultural events and sports matches in Brčko District, along with events organised by the OSCE and Brčko District Government.

It was a great experience and I learned many things from working with Svitac (Firefly).

Vlatko Mircheski, Macedonia
Svitac (Firefly) volunteer, September-December 2017