In May 2024, UNHCR Switzerland published a powerful story about SANCHILD founder Sanela Music, highlighting her personal journey from displacement to peacebuilding.
The article, titled From Inner Peace to Collective Healing, reflects on Sanela’s childhood experience of fleeing the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina with her family, and on the lasting emotional impact that conflict can leave long after the violence has ended.
Arriving in Switzerland as a refugee in 1993, Sanela and her family faced the difficult reality of starting again in a new country. Beyond physical safety, this meant learning a new language, navigating cultural differences, rebuilding stability and preserving dignity while carrying the invisible wounds of war.
Through this experience, Sanela came to understand that the consequences of conflict do not end when people reach safety. Trauma, grief, survivor’s guilt and the loss of belonging can continue to shape lives long after the violence has stopped.
The UNHCR feature gives voice to this deeper reality. It reminds us that healing is not only individual, but also collective. Rebuilding peace means creating spaces where people can face painful histories, restore trust and reconnect across differences.
This understanding became one of the foundations of SANCHILD.
Born from lived experience, SANCHILD was created to address the roots of violence, division and inherited trauma. Its mission is to support communities in building more compassionate, inclusive and peaceful relationships — from the inside out.
One of the key expressions of this mission is the Harmony Project.
Developed in collaboration with the Rotary Foundation, Harmony empowers local educators, social workers, activists and community leaders to create peacebuilding initiatives within their own communities.
Rather than imposing solutions from the outside, this approach is rooted in local leadership, dialogue and emotional awareness. It recognizes that sustainable peace requires more than political agreements. It also requires compassion, inner resilience and the courage to transform pain into connection.
This work also contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being, SDG 4: Quality Education, and SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities. By connecting refugee experience, healing, education and inclusion, SANCHILD contributes to a broader vision of peace that begins with human dignity.
For SANCHILD, this UNHCR feature is a meaningful recognition of the story behind our mission. It honors not only Sanela’s personal resilience, but also the belief that lived experience can become a source of service, leadership and transformation.
We are deeply grateful to UNHCR Switzerland for sharing this story and for helping bring visibility to the importance of healing, inclusion and dialogue in building peaceful societies.
From inner peace to collective healing, Sanela Music’s journey reminds us that peace begins when pain is met with courage, dignity and compassion