Bread of Life: Supporting War Victims Physically, Emotionally, and Spiritually

Jasmina Tosic

Life was good for Milenko and Cvijeta. (names have been changed) They lived in beautiful Sarajevo -- he with his work in a large utility company, she with her job as a bookkeeper. Their daughter was enjoying life as a student, with plans for the university and dental school. They enjoyed the diversity of people who lived in their neighborhood, and had many friends.

But then war came. It was unthinkable, but their life was simply torn up. Work vanished, as did people from the neighborhood. Milenko faced the prospect of being forced to join the military, a prospect he strongly resisted. Eventually, they were trapped, unable to live in their own city and unable to leave. As their plan evolved, it became clear that Milenko had to make an immediate attempt to get out on his own, on foot, through dangerous territory, unsure that he could reach a safe place, while Cvijeta would wait for the opportunity for herself and their daughter to follow. Now the family was separated, facing a totally unknown and unknowable situation.

It took several months until Milenko and Cvijeta and their daughter were reunited in Belgrade. Here was safety, but the situation was still bleak - no employment, no friends, no food, no home. Contact with Bread of Life was the starting point in rebuilding their lives. They began to receive regular distributions of food and clothing, which they needed. They found an apartment through an arrangement of caring for an elderly man who gave them the flat in exchange for providing him care. What's more, they began to experience a welcoming, loving community. As they began to respond, they too became interested in the faith that this community shared. Through Bread of Life, they found faith.

Milenko and Cvijeta have become strong members of the staff of Bread of Life. They are now ministering to others who like themselves have been displaced and have lost lives that previously had been so good. They face many challenges. Money continues to be scarce, and there are many things they have to do without. Now their home is in question, since the elderly man has since died, and relatives have claimed the flat and are threatening that they will have to leave. In spite of it all, they keep at their work of caring for others who are in need. It is easy to see that their lives are expressing the faith they now know.

Milenko and Cvijeta are only one of more than 25,000 families who have been served by Bread of Life. Refugees have been coming to Belgrade and surrounding areas from all the different conflicts that have been occurring in the Balkans. The most recent war in Kosovo has once again triggered a wave of people whose lives have been disrupted, and who are needing to be rebuilt, some because the war moved them from their homes, and others because the war machine itself engulfed them.

We must commit to be with people over time,
to help them with the healing,
to help them find new ways to sustain their own lives,
to regain a sense of being able to care for themselves.

Twenty year old Goran lives in a family that has struggled in many ways, even without war. He had found employment in the warehouse of Bread of Life, where his broad shoulders and strong arms made a very useful contribution. His open and cheerful spirit added to the camaraderie and effectiveness of the warehouse team as well. But then came war. Men, in prime of life, were in great demand to carry out the work of the war, so Goran had to go. Big as he was, he really had no one to protect him. He found himself pushed from place to place throughout the war, always into the worst places and the worst experiences. He doesn't speak a lot, but says that he only survived by constant use of alcohol and drugs, in an effort to handle the emotions of what he was experiencing. After the war, Goran returned to work in the warehouse. He seemed to be only a shell of the warm and cheerful young man he had been. He seldom smiled. He tended to stay off to the side by himself. His life had been torn up and needed to be rebuilt. It's been several months, and within this group of Christian men, Goran is again finding his place. His smile is returning, and he is once again participating fully with the group. In this caring group, his life is being rebuilt, he is contributing to others who are hurting, and is being spiritually nourished by his relationships with these men.

Thousands of stories can be told about people whose lives have been torn up, and who have been helped along the road toward rebuilding their lives. It is important for us who want to help remember that when someone is hurt and bleeding, they first need to have their wounds bandaged, to be given food, clothes and shelter. But the first aid, the emergency help, is not enough. We must commit to be with people over time, to help them with the healing, to help them find new ways to sustain their own lives, to regain a sense of being able to care for themselves. The healing is especially enhanced when people have an opportunity to, in turn, begin to help others in need.

We have not all had the same experiences in terms of how war affected our lives, but all of us have brokenness within us,
and are in need of having our lives rebuilt.

Here in Serbia, Bread of Life has been working for more than seven years to respond to the needs of those who have been hurt by war. For most of that time, the physical effects of war were not in our land, they were in other places, the places where refugees came from. Now, war has come to us. Our buildings have been destroyed and our loved ones have died. War has become a part of life in our own land. We now share the experience of those whom we serve in a way we could not before. We share some of the same needs. We are forced to experience our own brokenness more directly. We too need to be about the work of rebuilding our lives. Perhaps this allows us to more fully relate to those in need who come to our door. We need to invite them through the experience of our relationships, to find Jesus, the healer, and rebuilder of lives. We have not all had the same experiences in terms of how war affected our lives, but all of us have brokenness within us, and are in need of having our lives rebuilt.

Jasmina Tosic attended SPI in 1998, and works for Bread of Life in Belgrade.

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Restoring life and rebuilding hope in Mozambique

Alfiado Saete Zunguza

Numerous lives were lost during the civil war in Mozambique. Many communities were destroyed. Thousands of people were displaced or forced to live as refugees in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, South Africa, Swaziland, and in various other countries in Africa and around the world.

Many women and men in Mozambique used to say, "We don't know who we are any more." The culture and the people's sense of self were severely affected by the war so that people felt lifeless and hopeless. Sixteen years of civil war were too much for people who had gone through almost five hundred years of colonization and ten years of struggle for independence.

Hopelessness and lifelessness are things that peacebuilders in Mozambique are committed to overcome. We believe that something must - and can - be done today to restore the sense of self, to restore life and rebuild hope for a better future for everyone.

Mozambicans need to start thinking about the future.
They need to think about the kind of society that they want to have thirty to fifty years from today and do something now
so that the desired future can become true.

Today organizations are working in many areas to address several issues crucial to the restoration the lives of Mozambican people. Their activities range from clearing the millions of land mines left behind by the war to loan schemes for small businesses. Other organizations and institutions are interested not only in the life that needs to be lived today but also with the vision of the future. These organizations are interested not only with the restoration of the lives of individuals but of the whole society as well. The vision of these organizations does not end with the restoration of life; in addition, the vision addresses the need to rebuild hope for the future.

One of these organizations is the United Methodist Church in Mozambique (UMC). The philosophy that guides the activities of the Church is "Restoring Life and Rebuilding Hope." The UMC has a Department of Conflict Resolution that is developing and implementing training seminars and workshops for church leaders and interested individuals from around the country. Some of the topics addressed during the workshops are basic mediation skills, introduction to conflict transformation, conflict analysis and resolution, faith-based conflict transformation, and training of trainers workshops.

The Church believes that Mozambique needs more than programs that address the current problems. Mozambicans need to start thinking about the future. They need to think about the kind of society that they want to have thirty to fifty years from today and do something now so that the desired future can become true.

The UMC captured this vision and is now developing a conflict resolution and peace education program in primary schools in Maputo City. The assumption of this work is that Mozambique will have a better future if young generations are prepared now. To build a culture of peace, Mozambique needs to develop a strategic plan that will incorporate activities and commitment for continuing work for many years. The country needs to develop a long-term process, which will take two to three generations to implement. Unless we, as Mozambicans, do something today, nothing will change in the future.

The implementation strategy of the conflict resolution and peace education program in schools is to establish partnerships between parents, teachers and pupils so that the philosophy of restoring life and rebuilding hope can happen at the same time. The program wants to create a good learning environment - learning by watching and learning by hearing. For this to happen, parents need to learn how to deal constructively with their own conflicts; teachers need to know how to relate with students in a way that is constructive and life-giving; pupils need to learn how to resolve disputes and conflicts among themselves. The program is called the "Partnership towards Peaceful Schools, Homes and Future."

The program started in 1998 and it had a good acceptance by school authorities, teachers, and parents, as well as the pupils themselves. All of them have expressed interest in including conflict resolution and peace education subjects within the primary school curriculum. The UMC, UNESCO, and other organizations are involved in the development of topics that can be incorporated in the curriculum. The Ministry of Education has asked its experts and educators to consult with other organizations to design the curriculum.

This is a good sign and it shows that the Mozambican government is committed to preparing the future generation of politicians, scientists, medical doctors, teachers, educators, peacebuilders, peacemakers, and so on.

Restoring life and rebuilding hope is becoming an agenda for the whole country. Let it be.

Alfiado Zunguza is a pastor in the Mozambican United Methodist Church. A 1999 graduate of the MA program, he is now working with the Conflict Resolution program he describes in the article.

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