Volunteer Photography Travel in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Do you realize that you have unique skills and talents that can be used to help others? Have you thought about helping your favorite non-profit organization through volunteer photography travel? Do you have a charity that serves others in a location other than your own town?  If so, you may be able to find ways to support them through meaningful travel.

Look for Opportunities

My first few exposures to volunteer travel were situations where I offered my photography skills to a non-profit organization that was planning a trip overseas. Our church was planning a trip for a small group to go to Bosnia and Herzegovina. My husband, Terry is a musician. He was invited to go and play music with his friend, Bob Ryan to reach out and connect with the Bosnian people. Terry was apprehensive about going, but I was very excited (just a small indication of our different personalities). I’ve wanted to go on a short-term mission trip for years, but this was the first time that our circumstances would allow for it.

Look for Ways to Fund the Trip

After we determined that our schedules were open and we both could go, we had to figure out how we would pay for it. As with most non-profit opportunities, we needed to either pay for it ourselves (which was a bit out of our budget) or raise the funds. Generally smaller non-profits don’t have the extra money to cover things like a traveling photographer. I’ll write in more detail about the fundraising aspect another time, but suffice it to say that through the generous help of friends, family, and many others, we were blessed to raise the money to cover the trip costs for both of us.

Learn About Your Destination

Keep an open mind. Some destinations may not have all the comforts of home. Before we went, we took the time to learn about the culture in Bosnia by reading books and talking to those who knew about the history of the area. We also went to lunch with the Phoenix team to Caffe Old Town Sarajevo, a local Bosnian restaurant, to get a preview of the types of food we would encounter. The food was different and heavy on meat and bread, but quite delicious! These small steps helped us to prepare for some of the things we would experience when we were there.

Seek Out Expert Help with Arrangements

Fortunately, our Missions Director was leading the team and had been there many times before. She made all the plans and handled a multitude of logistics while we were on our trip. This is a huge help when traveling to a destination that’s unfamiliar and really helps to relieve a lot of the stress that goes along with travel to new places abroad. She also had many contacts in the area from previous trips, which made travel and accommodations much easier to arrange.

In many cases, if you’re traveling with or for a non-profit organization they will have the resources to help you with travel plans, or will do the planning for you. As mentioned before, depending on the size of the organization, you may need to pay for your own travel or raise the funds for it yourself. Consider this another donation to the organization.

Observe the Culture

Even with our pre-trip prep and learning, it was still such a remarkable, eye-opening adventure. There is so much that could be told, but for now, I’ll just share a few of the interesting things the we learned during our visit there. Its important to observe the culture, but don’t compare or judge whether it’s better or worse than at home, just because its different. Be compassionate and show understanding. Learn about how and why things are the way they are.

The produce in Bosnia was fresh and delicious. It was interesting that even though I ordered the same salad at the same restaurant a few days in a row, the ingredients changed. My guess is that they served whatever vegetables were available that day, which was fine with me. This is my grilled chicken salad one of the days. It was scrumptious. As I mentioned, their traditional foods are heavy on meat and breads, so I enjoyed my veggies when I could get them.

Allow Yourself to Slow Down

Not really surprising, but interesting that there was no fast food, except an “unofficial” McDonalds that displayed the golden arches, but served more local food. Here in America, we’re so used to having fast food at every corner. It’s actually quite refreshing to be forced to slow down and enjoy a meal around a table instead of scarfing down a burger on your way to another appointment.

There’s no such thing as coffee-to-go in Bosnia. Coffee is an experience, a social engagement, an intimate meeting with friends; not merely a beverage. They drink it all day long and it’s very strong. We saw dozens of outdoor patios like this one, filled with tables where folks would sit for hours, drinking Bosnian coffee from real cups while they caught up on life and examined the world as it passed by. This was another refreshing difference in their culture and just another sign of the slower pace there.

Connect with the Locals

The people in Bosnia are very welcoming and relational. Our new friend, Djana served us a traditional Bosnian meal in her home. The whole family treated us with such loving hospitality and served an amazing meal. (You may notice from the photo that it’s tradition to remove your shoes when you enter someone’s home.)

The roads in Mostar are VERY narrow. Many times a two-way street was not much wider than one lane (by American standards). My guess is that this is mostly because the city was founded in the 1400’s, long before cars. There’s just not enough room (or money) to widen the roads.  We were fortunate that our hosts were accustomed to navigating the streets and traffic there.

Learn About the History

The devastation of the Bosnian war in the 1990s is still evident all around the country. The photo below, is from one of the main roads. At this location on the front lines in Mostar, enemies literally exchanged gunshots across the street from each other. You can see a building restored (on the left) and another barely standing and pocked with munitions damage. It’s a stark reminder of the war that ravaged more than decades ago.

We asked someone in town why so many buildings were still standing empty and unrepaired. She said that there were many people that left the country during the war and never returned. The government isn’t able to tear the buildings down because they don’t own them. I assume that at some point there will be a deadline for claiming the property, and if unclaimed then they’ll be demolished. Until then, these graphic remains stand precariously throughout the country.

The Bosnian and Roma people loved the American folk music that the guys shared. When Terry and Bob played a concert in Breza [just outside of Sarajevo] the women and children were literally dancing in the aisles. It was awesome and so encouraging to both us and them.

Terry’s harmonicas ignited the crowd. The children imitated him by playing “air harmonica”. After the concert he gave a few harmonicas away for kids to take home.  We’re not sure how happy the moms were about that, but the kids were thrilled.  Maybe we’ll get a concert from them the next time we visit.

We had a chance to meet so many new people and learn more about the culture and reconciliation that they strive for after the Bosnian war. More than a decade later there’s still evidence of poverty, pain, devastation and heartache at every turn, yet they’re optimistic about a better future. Someday soon we hope to return to reconnect with the people and continue to develop relationships with our new friends there.

Share Your Photography Gift

Terry shared his musical talents when we were on the trip, but I shared my contributions after we got home. I was so blessed to experience the culture and people of Bosnia. In response, I was honored to provide these gifts to others when we returned:

Pictures of the concerts, people and trip activities to share when we got home with those at the church and others who supported us

Pictures of several children that are sponsored by our church (with money for clothes and school supplies and books so they can attend school).  These were passed along to the Americans that sponsor each child so they’d have updated photos of the kids.

Pictures of a large missionary family that had recently moved there and didn’t have much time to document their new surroundings. I was able to send them digital pictures that they could share with their family, friends, and supporters. I also created a nice coffee table photo book that they could keep for themselves. It turned out that they had to come back to the states after less than a year due to a serious health issue, so I think the keepsake book was a special treat for them to have.

How Can You Help?

Even though I was “working” on the trip, it was more of a gift to me than it was for them. I loved every minute of it and would offer my services again if the opportunity arose. I later traveled with a women’s leadership training team to document their trips to the Middle East too. My husband felt the same way and was so honored to be able to share the musical talents that God had given him on the other side of the world.

What are some skills that you could provide for a service-oriented non-profit? Be creative. Think outside the box. Photography, video, graphic design, social media management, language translation, marketing, writing, music, organizational skills?

Want to learn about volunteer travel in America’s parks and wilderness areas? Check out my post about those opportunities here. Do you have questions about our trip? Let me know in the comments below. I’d love to answer them.