Jicin, Czech Republic

Regional Status: In Development (DEV)

The work of Atlantic Bridge in Jicin started with Bohunka Smolikova who, with her two children, came to our International Youth Festival in Nitra (SK) in 2005. During the festival they became enthusiastic and inspired to build an 'outpost' for the mission of Bridgebuilders in their town. Bohunka, who taught English in a grammar school, was able to interest her school in an exchange project, hosting a group from The Netherlands. And so it started.

In April 2006, a First Contact Team from Tholen (NLD) came to Jicin to ‘survey the land’ and lay the basis for a partnership bridge between Jicin and Tholen (NL) to start exchanges. During the fall of 2006 and spring of 2007, various visits and exchanges took place with the result of nine students travelling to Tholen in June 2007. Two weeks later the Czech students hosted a team of young people. They were not only from Tholen but also from the  new American partner region of Jicin, the North Penn or Lansdale PA region.  In the fall of 2007, the Protestant Evangelic church in Jicin also joined this partnership, offering us the use of their building as a youth training and resource centre if we can help them renovate it. As we saw the near empty church void of youth, as most Czech churches are, an idea emerged to draw youth from many nations and denominations to Jicin to help reconstruct and rebuild this one church as a model and a challenge to recover what was lost in previous generations. So the idea has grown into a caravan; the Caravan to North Bohemia.

The key people in the region are Milada Fohlerova and Kamila. In 2008 Bohunka moved on to develop a new region, the Cernilov-Hradec region, 45 minutes east of Jicin. Milada and Tereza have been instrumental in finding other families and friends while Kamila has a gift of putting the finances and organisational structure together.

During the Start weekend for new Bridgebuilders clubs in Liberec in December 2008, a new Bridgebuilders Club was started in Jicin made up of previous Bridgebuilders with commitment s of several new members. Their first   experience as a team in building bridges was a 3-week adventure in the USA where they travelled to 5 different locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York with the Christ United Methodist Church in Lansdale PA as their core hosting group. With the return of the Bridgebuilders from the USA we are discussing the next step: to bring Circuit Riders to the region in October and start one or two new Bridgebuilders Clubs while strengthening the Regional Support Team.

Waiting for the caravan.

As the Caravan to North Bohemia gets on its way, the expectations of what this Caravan will lead to offer a variety of comments. But one thing is certain. It all ends in Jicin in the year 2012.  As we bring young people, leaders and Circuit Riders from different countries to the Jicin region, we hope to build a broad foundation involving churches, the city hall and other youth organizations. It all depends on the number of young people and leaders we can mobilize in the coming years. The key to this will be the increase of partner regions in other countries such as Tholen (NLD) and Lansdale, PA (USA). In these regions we need more churches, schools, teachers and businesses to get involved.

One Bridgebuilders Club started in December 2009. Their outward journey was to the USA in summer 2009.