« A Western woman, she has had no difficulties in working and proving her worth in a field long, and even now, dominated by a majority of men in uniform, and on African soil to boot, “ he told us. SSR is in fact a business for soldiers, policemen, prison officers and magistrates, but all treat Maja as an equal. She feels she perfectly fits in with the team, and they do return the attention she pays to them, within the framework of the program that she steers. Among other tasks, Maja is responsible for the component « Fight against Sexual Violence. »
Given the difficulty and complexity of questions to be considered when it comes to SSR, we asked her to tell us what actually her tasks are. Follow her carefully: “I am currently the focal point for international partners, in particular for the SSR coordination frameworks and for the summary table of all SSR-related activities of partners and international organizations. I have also been the focal point for the Unit’s results-based budgeting and outreach activities. I frequently draft reports, code cables, talking points, fact sheets and various other information and presentation materials. I am the Unit’s focal point for the fight against conflict-related sexual violence and, if need be, I do induction presentations on SSR for new MONUSCO employees. Finally, I organize and facilitate SSR coordination meetings. »
Maja’s supervisors say they are fully satisfied with her discreet, yet painstaking work. “She is persistent, puts in long hours, does not fear to challenge herself and delivers quality work. Maja is a real value added for our Unit. » Her colleagues find her « sociable, attentive to others, and serene. She organizes all our retreats, as well as the end-of-week friendly drink to maintain a climate of dialogue and trust between the Unit Chief and his collaborators.” Mr. de Fabribeckers, a firm believer in ensuring gender balance in recruitment, says that when he took up his assignment with MONUSCO and found Maja among the staff he would be supervising, he had no doubt about her capacity. Since then, with each passing day, he finds that his judgment was fully justified.
It should be pointed out that Maja has been in humanitarian circles since here beginnings in active life. “Prior to joining MONUSCO I had acquired some working and volunteering experience with a number of NGO’s, including the United Nations Association of Serbia and the International Organization for Migration in Budapest, Hungary.”
« I entered the United Nations in October 2011 as a UN volunteer (UNV) serving in the MONUSCO Public Information Division as an Administrative Assistant. I joined the Security Sector Reform Unit in December 2012.”
Maja graduated from the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Belgrade where she obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science. At the Central European University in Budapest, she earned a Master’s in International Relations and European Studies. Born in Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina, she lived for a long time in Belgrade, Serbia. Fully bilingual (English/French), Maja has a passion for travel, learning new languages, and long distance running, her favorite sport. In 2012, she participated in the United Nations Inter-Agency Games in Kigali and brought back a trophy which she dedicated to all MONUSCO staff. Bravo and thank you, Maja.
And I’ll tell you what? “Don’t change course; you are on the right track, Maja”
