Author: Phill Hollis

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Rowan ‘Rowi’ Hellyer

Role: Youth worker/musician/ administrator

Location: Jajce

When did you join Novi Most? 2008

Favourite Food: Tescos finest custard and salt and vinegar kettle chips -not at the same time!

Hobbies: Running, Playing music, arts and crafts, reading

Whats the best part of your job? Empowering young people to grow and learn.

Whats is your best memory working with Novi Most? There have been many – taking young people to the coast for the first time in their lives, Novi Most violin ensemble playing at the British Ambassador’s carol service, organising street art festivals in Jajce.

Favourite Scripture? Psalm 23

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Matt ‘Maci’ Hellyer

Role: I guess I’m still a youth worker and a Novi Most team leader, but increasingly most of my time is spent as a musician and producer.

Location: Jajce

When did you join Novi Most? I joined in September 2008, and spent two years in Mostar before moving to Jajce.

Favourite Food: Good bread and butter is hard to beat…although I’m never going to turn down a decent steak!

Hobbies: Songwriting and making music is a hobby as well as being part of my job….a bit like snowboarding. Sometimes I grow chilli peppers!

Whats the best part of your job? Getting to help people make music, and seeing what it means to them and to their audience is very rewarding..

Whats is your best memory working with Novi Most? The weekend when eight young people from BiH, Croatia and Serbia came to my studio to record Hiljadu koraka – a song they’d written together during a songwriting I ran at Youth Camp at Emek Beraka in 2023 – was pretty special. You can find the result of this weekend on Spotify.

Favourite Scripture? Sing to Him a new song; Play skilfully with a shout of joy. Psalm 33:3

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Sabahudin ‘Budo’ Hajder

Role: Youth worker/musician

When did you join Novi Most? 2005

Favourite Food: Curry, and “grah” – proper Bosnian beans!

Hobbies: Playing tennis and cooking a barbecue.

Whats the best part of your job? Being able to do what God has called me to do – to work with young people and to teach music.

Whats is your best memory working with novi most? Seeing young people grow in their musical abilities and seeing them get to know God. My best memories of this are from working with the band Underground.

Favourite Scripture? Galatians 2:20

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Creating Smiles Through English Lessons

Young boy smilling as he learns english

Since the beginning of our work in Capljina, one of the key activities we have provided for young people has been English lessons. These can be structured courses where there is an option to sit an exam at the end of the course and receive a certificate from Cambridge University. Or we also offer more informal, conversation type sessions where people can practice and improve their communication skills. Sometimes we work with small groups, sometimes
one to one.

Danijel comes for help with his English homework. Despite English being his least favourite subject at
school he appreciates learning in a fun way and being encouraged for small steps of progress. The smile on
his face is priceless when he gets a better than expected grade at school and his efforts pay off.

But for Danijel coming to Novi Most is about so much more than learning English. It’s a place where he’s seen and heard. It’s a place where he feels he can bring his friends but also make new friends, people he otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to get to know. It is a place where he can learn and grow in many more ways than he thought when he arrived for his first English class

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Off to the Forest With Royal Rangers

Young people having fun camping in the woods

For the past couple of years, Novi Most has been partnering with the local church in Mostar to run Royal Rangers. We caught up with Indira to learn more about what that is and how it is helping.


We decided to start the Royal Rangers programme (a Christian scouts) in Mostar because we realised that this programme agrees with our vision as Novi Most.

We want to guide young people in their physical, psychological, social and spiritual growth so that they grow into mature and independent people. We use Royal Rangers to do this by organising hikes and trips; and by learning about nature and society, and how to get along with each other.

Although we started the programme during the pandemic, we have been blessed because not only have the children who first started coming stayed with us but others joined too. We like this programme because it has a mentoring character and gives young people the opportunity to serve and show their leadership skills.

Last year we had a camp where 6 young people were trained as scouts and young leaders and they could immediately serve at a summer camp at Boracko Jezero. This year, due to the short school holidays, we did not organise a winter camp, but we organised a weekend in the mountains with 16 young people. We see that our young people are learning to work with each other, to accept their differences (like ethnic and social differences), and learning to serve society.