Meet CRS Program Manager Sanda Beljak
Sanda first started working with Catholic Relief Services during the war in 1994 as a receptionist. Over the last eight years she has worked her way up to become one of CRS Bosnia-Herzegovina's most vital program managers. She likens her career advancement within CRS to the "American dream."
Sanda Beljak, CRS Bosnia's Program Manager for the Global Food For Education Initiative.
As program manager for the Global Food for Education Initiative (GFEI), Sanda is responsible for the monetization (local sale) of surplus wheat donated from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the use of the resulting proceeds for the production of school lunches for over 40,000 students every day.
When discussing GFEI with Sanda, it does not take long to see that she loves her work and brings energy and professionalism to her tasks. But Sanda believes the secret to CRS' success is the combination of experience and energy in the country staff.
"In CRS you get the feeling that there is nothing we can't do. CRS is like that; if you have a good plan to address community needs, everyone helps each other to make it happen." Just a few years ago monetization was just a dream, but Sanda and others in CRS have worked hard to make it a reality with GFEI.
Sanda says the most difficult part of her job is not being able to provide lunches to all the children in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Yet she acknowledges the team's success with the GFEI program last year alone by providing 5.2 million school lunches to vulnerable students in many different parts of country.
"I have had the opportunity to travel all over the country, and everywhere people have huge respect for CRS." She believes this respect is due to the way CRS works in the communities it serves. "We work with an awareness of the needs in the community." From the time of the war to the present, "CRS has always worked with all the different (ethnic) groups in Bosnia-Herzegovina, adapting our programs and skills to meet the changing needs of the people we serve."
