Novi Put has been rewarded by Sweden’s CHILD10 for their work against human trafficking in an announcement made from Stockholm February 24. Grand County Rotary clubs provided significant funding for the Bosnian nonprofit’s project to encourage girls to stay in school and to educate them and the public about the dangers of human trafficking.
The non-profit Novi put was one of ten organizations selected from over 90 nominations from 27 countries across the globe. The announcement of Novi put and the other 9 chosen organizations were made during a digital launch on February 24, with special appearances from Her Majesty the Queen Silvia of Sweden and Swedish Foreign Minister, Ann Linde.
Novi Put will receive 100´000 SEK ($11,800) from Child10´s Main Partner, Her Majesty the Queen Silvia of Sweden´s Foundation “Care About the Children” to continue implementing in their work against exploitation and trafficking of humans…
“Novi Put was initially founded as a call for action to improve the child protection system in Bosnia-Hercegovina” said Jacob Flärdh, Secretary General, Child10, in announcing the award.
Novi Put has for the last decade become an influential voice in preventing child trafficking and exploitation. Their creation of a holistic model combining helpline, counseling and preventative work clearly shows an exceptional commitment to protect children. Their dedication to reducing stigmatization of victims and shifting the blame towards perpetrators is inspirational and fundamental to enabling a systemic shift and ending gender-based violence.
Four Grand County Rotary Clubs contributed funding for two grants. Winter Park/Fraser Rotary provided $3000, Granby Rotary $4000. Grand Lake Rotary gave $2000, and Kremmling, $500 Clubs, from the Denver area, , Summit County, Boulder, Grand Cayman, Ojai, California, and Mostar (Bosnia) provided contributions, as well.. Rotary Club contributions were then matched by the Rotary International Foundation headquartered in Evanston, Illinois. The fundraising efforts encompassing the two grants and the project implementation by Novi Put began in 2014 with completion in 2020. A total of $93,000 raised funded the anti-human trafficking project.. The funding efforts were championed by Grand County resident and member of Denver Rotary, Felicia Muftic, and the late Dr. Michael Muftic.
The project was undertaken because by 2014 Bosnia had become the largest source and conduit of trafficked humans in Europe, per the US State Department.. This was in part due to dire economic conditions caused by that country’s failure to recover from the civil wars ”of ehtnic cleansing” that took place in the first half of the 1990’s. For more about Novi Put and the Rotary grants, visit bosniaglobalgrant.com.
