I bent down to get eye level with the little boy wearing a bright yellow coat. Big, brown eyes peered out from the bunk bed that he occupied with his baby sister. His dad introduced us, widening the door to the shipping container-turned-shelter.

"Bonjour," I waved at Davu and his little sister.

Intrigued, Davu climbed out of bed to get a closer look. I expected him to stop and shyly wait by his dad's leg. But he didn't. He kept walking without hesitation until he walked straight into my chest - wrapping his arms around me in a hug.

Surprised by his friendliness and not wanting to hold him without consent, I looked to his dad for permission. At his nod of approval, I complied with the little guy's request, wrapped my arms around him, and hugged him, rubbing his little back over his jacket in case he was cold.

Born In Displacement

His dad shared with us that the children were born in displacement, never knowing a place of permanence or a country to give them place and belonging.

Watching three-year-old Davu later in the day as he stopped midrun and screamed for no visible reason, my heart grieved the impact the trauma of displacement has on children and families, etching loss and pain into their bodies, their souls, and their lives.

I could see how much the parents loved their children and how hard it was to compensate as a parent for the hardship that displacement brings. Davu's family is just one family out of the record number of over 30,000 people who passed through Bosnia in 2023.

Making the world smaller with fufu.

As we visited, I found out Davu's family is from a neighboring country with a shared language with the country of one of my housemates at Jonathan House, where I live and work back in the States.

I tried to make the world smaller by telling Davu's family about the videos my friends had shown me of their homeland and the fufu they had cooked for me. I sent my housemate a message later that day explaining the people I met and how my poor French limited me from being able to learn more.

When I returned from my trip to Bosnia, my housemate asked me about Davu's family. I explained what our team did while I visited, how many people there spoke French, and how my knowledge of Bonjour, Bonnuit, and Croissant was not very helpful. She laughed and said, "One day, when I get my papers, I'd like to go there to volunteer."

"You'd be such a blessing there!" I told her, my heart warmed by her generosity. Most people do not decide that the first thing they want to do after establishing a life of stability from displacement is leave that stability to serve others. But such generosity is commonplace among my displaced friends at Jonathan House.

Full Circle Moment

It was a beautiful full-circle moment: meeting people in Bosnia from countries my friends have lived in and using the words and phrases they taught me to meet others worldwide.

I will remember the family I met and how much I would have liked to introduce them to my friends at Jonathan House back home. And I won't soon forget Davu's bright yellow winter coat and beautiful brown eyes, looking right at me as he walked into my arms for a hug.

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