Hope for the hopeless

I popped home for lunch to discover some mail from Novi Most. The document included, amongst other things, background on NoviMost and a brief overview of Bosnia Herzegovina's history since Tito. It was all absorbing stuff but I thought I'd post a few of the statistics here.

77% of youth (who form 25% of the population) want to leave Bosnia Herzegovina, having no hope for their futures. [UN OIA report in 2005]

62% of young people in Bosnia Herzegovina are unemployed. [DfiD, June 2007]

Half the country lives in poverty. 30% of those living in poverty are under 18. [DfiD, Oct 2004]

I haven't searched for comparisons; that would be unnecessary. Those figures scream 'need'. While improvements in education, the emergence of new jobs and the injection of foreign investment will be part of the answer, the restoration of hope is vital to see a lasting transformation in the nation.

I've taught song-writing for years and always encouraged would-be songsmiths to include an element of hope in their writing. Now there is a challenge for that hope not just to a song-writing exercise but a genuine life-changing force.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Anyone for Battenberg?

10 things we learned in 10 years of adventure

Happy: we didn't make this!