"I have met many remarkable volunteers, and look forward to the challenges and rewards of being Italy's new Country Manager."

I was born in Aleksandrovac, a town in Serbia, by the name of Dragana Djordjevic. My family consisted of myself and one brother who is five years younger than me. He is now married and lives in Aleksandrovac. My mother and father also live in the same town. We all try and get together once a year -- either I go to Serbia, or they visit us in Italy.

Since one of my grandfathers married an English lady I learned to speak English and Serbo-Croatian from an early age. I lived in Aleksandrovac until I graduated from high school and then I moved to the nearby city of Nis. It was there I graduated with a degree in law. During my university years I traveled to Moscow and St. Petersburg and visited the famous "Hermitage." Soon after getting my law degree I worked as a director of acquisition for a legal property in the local government department in Aleksandrovac. That job was not easy but it was rewarding and it made my mum and dad very proud of my accomplishments.

For twelve years I lived in London and I took several different jobs. I will always treasure my family and friends who live in England, especially staff from Twyford High school in Acton where I worked until I moved away. On one occasion I have even had dinner with the British Prime Minster, John Major, and his wife Norma at our friend’s manor house in Huntington!

My children were very familiar with Italy as they loved spending holidays on the sandy Ostuni beaches and making new friends. We all enjoyed the sun, the sea, the glorious food and wine not to mention the best olive oil in the world! So in 2002 we decided to swap the chaos of London for the tranquility of Ostuni.

We still go back to London once a year, but going to London on holiday is much easier than living there and bringing up children!

Since we moved to Italy I was asked by the teachers from Ostuni and a nearby town of Fasano to help them prepare students for the Trinity college exams and that is what I have been doing for the last three years. Those teachers have now become dear friends of mine.

In October 2005 I began working for Global Volunteers as a consultant, first assisting Marty Lemke as a team leader, who I think is an extraordinary woman. One team she led had 24 volunteers and that was a challenge, but we did managed to do it, and it was a great experience for me. Since then I have met many remarkable volunteers, and look forward to the challenges and rewards of being Italy's new country manager.

I have two wonderful children. Both of them were born in London. Pamela, is age 14, and Giuseppe, is nearly 13. I love reading, traveling, listening to music, meeting new people and being a taxi driver for my kids.

My favorite authors are Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Kundera and my all time favorite is R.Kippling’s poem “IF”.

A quote I like:

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.” ~ Melody Beattie