Port of Call LAST UPDATE September 19, 2006
site design imagesparkle.com
September 3, 2006 Dubrovnik, Croatia – Desa, for Women’s Empowerment in Transitional Croatia
image
Dubrovnik, Croatia
In the past few years, Peace Boat has been continually developing its programs concerning gender-related issues around the world, focusing mainly on women’s empowerment organizations. On the current voyage, there are gender-focused exchange and study programs available for participants in Eritrea, Croatia, Italy, Morocco, Guatemala, Kenya, and the United States.
site design imagesparkle.com
image
Desa president Jany Hansal speaking to Peace Boat participants
On the 54th voyage, a number of participants visited Desa, a women’s organization in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Started in 1993 when a group of fourteen women were moved to help refugees streaming into Dubrovnik from neighbouring countries during the aggression of the Yugoslav Army and Serbian and Montenegrin forces, the organization continues to provide essential support for women in the town. Jany Hansal (now president of Desa) was one of these volunteers who initiated the program. “We saw the need to give these women more than material aid to help them survive,” she said. “We needed to support their mental health.”
image
Some crafts made by members of Desa
Making a room in the burned and semi-destroyed hotel Libertas their base, they organized activities for refugees and exiled women, encouraging them to take up creative work to stir their positive energy and awake a sense of optimism. They started by gathering used clothing from aid agencies and organizing handicraft workshops, taking apart and sewing pieces back together into bed covers, rugs, table cloths, jackets, skirts and other practical necessities. As their reputation grew, these crafts were exhibited and sold in France, Belgium, Austria and Germany.
image
A member of Desa showing participants how to make Arancini
When the conflict subsided and the refugees returned to their homelands, Croatia was met with a post-war economic crisis and Desa answered a new need. They became active in empowering women who lost their jobs in the transition from communism to capitalism by providing educational programs to help improve their professional knowledge and skills. These free courses are still available today.
image
Peace Boat participants help a Desa member dress in a yukata (summer kimono)
Japanese participants exchanged culture with the members of Desa through yukata and origami workshops, and learned to make Arancini, a traditional recipe for candied orange and lemon peels. They also purchased beautiful fair trade crafts made by women involved with the organization. After a long lunch at homes of Desa members, participants came back to the organization looking content, calling their hostesses “mama.” Many were moved by Jany Hansal’s closing speech as she wished us well during the second half of our voyage around the world, showing a heartfelt solidarity between Desa and Peace Boat.