The Down Syndrome Center from Banja Luka is the only social welfare institution in Bosnia and Herzegovina building capacity for people with Down Syndrome through its social rehabilitation program. Since 2005, the Down Syndrome Center has functioned as a citizens’ association, but the center received the “social welfare institution” status in September of last year. In addition to the headquarters in Banja Luka, two local community centers have also been opened: one in Banja Vrućica and one in Jahorina. The center in Banja Vrućica has a greenhouse, an orchard, and an apiary. In Jahorina, an orchard has also been planted, and they are even planning to produce essential oils. “When I started the social rehabilitation program in 2015, I thought I would be able to help change the lives of those in our community with Down Syndrome, but instead, they changed me. I have actually think I have learned more from them than they have from me. They are so undeniably altruistic because when they choose to help someone, they do not ask for or expect anything in return,” explains Zoran Jelić, director of the Down Syndrome Center. Zoran Jelić used to be a civil engineer, but now, he is a psychotherapist and reflexologist through training he received abroad. He works with his patients at the center every day, including playing the guitar for them. His wife, Zdravka Jelić, an architect by profession, is also involved in the center’s work as the head of art therapy there. Zoran Jelić founded the center to help his own son, Lazar, who was born with Down syndrome. He knew that many people with Down syndrome are left to themselves after they turn 19 and stop attending educational institutions, and he wanted to do something to change that. “[People with Down syndrome] become invisible to experts and others in their wider community. Many of them fall into a state of apathy which can lead to severe depression. That is why I started this center: to give people with Down syndrome the right to a dignified life, a right which is so often taken away from them,” he says. Methods following those in the European Union Jelić says that the social rehabilitation model that the Down Syndrome Center implements is similar to the model implemented in the European Union. This rehabilitation program, called “PAIN,” helps give people with Down syndrome the right to self-determination and supports their identity and integrity. This social rehabilitation model includes group and individual psychotherapy, art, drama, music, dance, sports therapy, and independence and work training programs. They cooperated with several cafes in Banja Luka in previous years, where the wards worked as waiters. They also got their residents jobs with the Banja Vrućica Health and Tourist Center and the Karidial Hotel until the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. In July, the Down Syndrome Center opened a community center in Jahorina, in partnership with the Jahorina Olympic Center and the Vučko Hotel. There, the wards will have the opportunity to train for several jobs, like waiters, cooks, maids, and laundry workers. “We focus on what they can do, so we can work on their self-confidence and help them reach full their potential. We also work to break down prejudices and fight discrimination and stigmatization because from the moment they are born, they usually only hear what they can’t do, or how they won’t be able to be useful members of society,” says Jelić. Centers like this one are important, says Slađana Popović, a master psychologist and psychotherapist under supervision. “Through the center’s activities, people with Down syndrome are empowered and become competent in several different tasks, which significantly contribute to their socialization. We hope to send the message that people with Down syndrome can and should be active members of their community,” she says. She emphasizes that prejudices and stigmatization towards people who are different are still present in society. “Unfortunately, we see that people with Down syndrome, and anyone with developmental disorders or physical disability, tend to be degraded and marginalized by our society. People often make many incorrect assumptions about people with Down syndrome, either out of ignorance, misinformation, or fear,” says Popović. “The center’s work is a good example because it helps integrate people with Down syndrome into the community, while also raising public awareness of their ability and potential and breaking down stereotypes,” she explains. Breaking down prejudices In September 2019, the wards from the Down Syndrome Center premiered the play “Little Prince,” the first play in BiH performed by people with Down Syndrome.