The Deju Center in Doboj

This past Friday, we were invited to attend a groundbreaking ceremony at the Duje Center (do-yay) in Doboj (dough-boy) Bosnia. 

The Sarajevo humanitarian couples (E/S Stafford and now E/S Lamb) have been working with the center on a project to replace dormitories for the residents who live there. They have 3 dormitories that house people from the community who have no other place to go – elderly and disabled. The existing dormitories are in SAD shape and overcrowded. The humanitarian couples have been working on the proposal, in which the church financially partners with local and country government entities, to build a new building. 

The Duje Center is located in the countryside, about 15 mintues outside the Doboj. It has been in operation for about 20 years and there are about 400 people who live there. It is staffed by about 270 employees and of course, volunteers. The center is quite amazing and they strive to be as self-sufficient as possible. They have greenhouses (where the missionaries sometimes volunteer) and they grow 60% of their food need annually. 

They have a dairy and produce much of their own dairy products. They have a large bakery where they daily bake hundreds of loaves of bread. The director told us that to make bread is more cost effective, than to spend resources to buy bread (and it smelled DELICIOUS!).

They also have a large kitchen where they cook meals for the residents (with giant pots and pans). The larger MFS-Emmaus organization also provides meals to homebound community members, in a "meals on wheels" model. 

They have a tailor/sewing shop, where they make clothing (I said that I would like to volunteer there - and hope to do so in the coming months) and commercial-sized laundry operation.

They have an in-house medical facility – basic health care and physical therapy. (When we were there we met a man who had arrived in a wheelchair, but because of PT, he was now walking). They also have a barber shop/hair salon. 

A few years ago, the church donated a tractor to the Duje Center. They affectionately called it “Yeller” – lol. (Elder Lamb is the driver pictured here). 

A gathering room for ladies to sit and do handiwork and a craft area that help contribute to the reality of community and connection.

In a world, where main-stream news is happy to tell you about all that is going "wrong" in the world - it was refreshing to see a place where people were helping people - especially community member who may be forgotten or without other resources. 

The Duje Center really is a unique and amazing place. We were grateful for the opportunity to visit and hope to go again soon, in our work clothes :-)

* A big 'thank-you' to Sister Lamb for some of these pictures.