The event began with the presentation of John Paul II. bust statue located in front of the Regional Office of the Archdiocesan Centre for the Youth Pastoral Ivan Pavao II. (NCM) in Kornica. The event was announced by Dr. rev. Šimo Maršić, director of NCM, and the artwork of Zagreb sculptor of Posavina roots Ante Jurkić, was revealed by Archbishop of Vrhbosna, cardinal Vinko Puljić, with the assistance of Petar Luša, CEO of Zorg-In d.o.o.

The importance of tillage

Then in the area church of St. Joseph the Worker in Kornica, the Holy Mass was led by cardinal Puljić in concelebration with the parish priest in Čardak rev. Pave Kopić, Dean of the Dobor Deanery and parish priest in Odžak - venerable Jakov Filipović, rev. Maršić and six other priests.

At the beginning of the Holy Mass, the cardinal pointed out that this was the second time that he had led a Holy Mass in the church in Kornica after the last war. He then spoke about Mass readings in which Jesus said that his brothers and sisters were all those who obeyed the word of God. In the second part of the sermon, he reflected on the present day, which is burdened with so much negativity. “Today's man has lost his sense of cooperation with God. To work with God by cultivating land means to value motherhood. As a child, I have fond memories of working together with my family on that land. I have fond memories of physical labour, but my favourite is when we were growing an orchard and when I, together with my father, around the feast of St. Joseph, grafted fruit that later began to grow. But for them to grow, I had to cut the wild ones. It is the same with the man who is grafted with baptism”, he said at the end, and wished this gathering to be an encouragement to learn to live again with nature and to be encouraged by the word of God, thus becoming the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ as the gospel says.

At the end of the Holy Mass, Dr. Maršić thanked God for the past three years of the Iuvenes Fructus project, the Cardinal and the donors from Germany from the Renovabis organization, as well as the Central Office for Croats outside the Republic of Croatia, and especially Ivan Zeba, Head of Department for Legal Status, Culture and Education of the Croats in BiH.

The Holy Mass was animated by the male choir DominikS from Žepče.

Project presentation

After the Eucharist, also in the church, followed a program moderated by Josip Milanović, an NCM employee, during which the results and closure of the Iuvenes Fructus agricultural project were presented.

First on the improvised stage came Jozo Miletić and Gorana Blažanović, who were in the project from the very beginning. Then Peter Lušo answered the moderator's questions. Marina and Antonia, winners of start-up funds, presented their experiences from the project to the present.

After the musical performance of the choir DominikS, parish priest rev. Kopić and dean - venerable Filipović addressed the present, and spoke about the importance of the project for the parish and Dobor Deanery.

Burkhard Hanke, Head of the Projects Department at Renovabis, then presented his impressions, followed by Ivan Zeba, Head of the Department for Legal Status, Culture and Education of the Croats in BiH.

Prior to handing out the thank you plaques to the attendees of the third year of the agricultural project Iuvenes Fructus, Archbishop of Vrhbosna, cardinal Puljić addressed the present.

Afterwards, Dr. Maršić and the director of Zorg-In gave thank-you plaques to the participants of the third year of the project, and a joint photo shoot was organized.

Statistics of Iuvenes fructus

NCM Ivan Pavao II. conected with Zorg-In d.o.o., a firm that is engaged in farming in the village of Kornica for years, and the Vocational High School in Orašje. The result of the collaboration was a three-year Iuvenes Fructus project, which greatly contributed to the training of young people in agriculture, particularly in fruit growing. Under the sponsorship of the Renovabis and the Government of the Republic of Croatia, the aim of the project was to educate young people and work on their empowerment in agriculture (fruit growing). During one year of education, 20 unemployed people from 18 to 35 years of age have acquired knowledge and skills to work in fruit growing through theoretical and practical teaching. Gaining work experience through volunteering, a certificate of completed education, and the opportunity to start a business was enabled this way. At the end of each annual cycle of education, the five most successful were getting a start-up stimulation to start their own businesses.

In the last three years, 60 young people from 20 local communities have successfully completed their education and received a certificate, and start-up stimulation have been distributed to the 17 most successful trainees. Participation in the education was free of charge and travel and food were provided. The competition was open to young people from the area of Šamac, Žepče, Brčko, Tuzla, Dobor and Usora deanery, but the organizers did not limit themselves to these areas only, for example young people from Vitez and Sarajevo participated as well.