Tanja Jeremic is one of the participants in the project "Knowledge has power" conducted by the Association "Roma Heart Krusevac" and "Roma Center" from Kragujevac, within which she attended and successfully completed a course for a masseur.
Tanja was born in Kragujevac, in 1995, where she finished primary and secondary tourism school. In search of employment and a better life, in 2017 he went to Germany and applied for asylum there on the basis of a readmission agreement. After six months spent in Germany, her request was rejected and Tanja was deported to Serbia.
She could not find a job in the profession, so she turned her hobby and talent related to make-up and beautification into a current business. She started her own business for manicure and make-up because it was not necessary to invest a lot of money for this work, and she already possessed the knowledge and skills.
Tanja also had an affinity for massage, and at the same time, wanting to expand her knowledge and business, she decided to go through training within the program "Local mechanisms for the integration of marginalized groups" funded by HfO (Hoffnung fur Osteuropa) and DW (Diakonie Wurtemberg) from Germany, and is conducted by the Ecumenical Humanitarian Organization from Novi Sad.
After successfully completing the training for a masseur at the Workers' University in Kragujevac and obtaining a certificate, Tanja was able to expand her massage services and, with the already existing pedicure and manicure services, be more competitive on the market. From this job, Tanja manages to support herself and contribute to the household budget.
"This program helped me a lot. It is good, above all, for young people who do not know what to do in life. And they have no information about this and the opportunities that are provided. It guides them in things they don't know about or aren't even aware of their potentials, so it motivates them to go further and further. We need more programs like this for people, especially for young people, "Tanja told us in a conversation conducted in August this year.
Tanja participated in motivational workshops that were first organized within the project and after them she decided to enroll in a course for a masseur.
"This completed course meant a lot to me. I learned a lot and now I have a degree for a masseur and my work is worth more. It's better to know more because you always need knowledge and skills. "
The project "Local mechanisms for the integration of marginalized groups" is a program of the Ecumenical Humanitarian Organization from Novi Sad, which aims to support local initiatives that contribute to positive social change and strengthening civic initiatives in the Republic of Serbia.