War made Mirela's first school day impossible. Now, her daughter has started her first grade. "Healing doesn't always happen in the places we expect."
Mirela Popaja-Hadžić, CNE.news
Job Title: Columnist for CNE.news from Bosnia-Herzegovina
Mirela Popaja-Hadžić is born in Sarajevo in the 1980’s. Like many others of her generation, Mirela had a front row seat to the breakup of Yugoslavia and the siege of Sarajevo. In her twenties, Mirela realised that the war impacted her more than she had previously acknowledged. This realisation launched her into an introspective journey to grapple with and heal from her own trauma. It also catalysed a process of theological and philosophical reflection about how to lament and embrace the hardships of life. This individual healing process clarified her sense of personal calling and mission: to work for individual and collective healing through mental health and peacebuilding work. She has over 10 years of experience working in both the profit and non-profit sector in project coordination, program management, training, facilitation, and translation. She lives in Sarajevo, with her husband, their daughter and two cats.