The Bosnian War had serious consequences on the population. The war left coldly continuing to inflict trauma onto children, women and men.

In the last two decades, vulnerable groups of the Bosnian population are made up of children. According to UNICEF, an estimated 170,000 children in Bosnia and Herzegovina are poor. A 2015 study conducted by UNICEF found that the majority of children ages five to 15 are deprived of one or more basic life necessities, such as nutrition, educational resources and housing.

Simple actions one easily executes to combat the winter cold such as wearing warm clothes and turning on heaters is not an easily accessible service for Bosnian children and families in poverty. The absence of vital resources forces those in most-need to become vulnerable to winter ailments.

In order to support children, Islamic Relief selected children and gave them gift vouchers for winter clothing to keep warm during winter. Giving children independence and right of choice to choose the clothing they liked was important because it reduced the risk of children wearing the same items, appearing “uniformed” hence decreasing the likelihood of social embarrassment or potential bullying.

In addition to supporting families through the provision of clothing, Islamic Relief also provided firewood to the families who are taking care of the orphans.

The current government does not cater for systemic measures to overcome situations of severe poverty. Levels of unemployment are still widespread among the population.

The image below is of one of the recipients of the project, Dejan, Dejan currently lives in a shack with his mother. His mother had left an abusive relationship under two decades ago and married another man who would be Dejans father. Dejan’s father passed away when he was only six years old.

Our Winterisation Emergency Relief varies from country to country depending on the needs of the locals.

We are thankful to our donors in Australia and the field officers in Bosnia who were crucial to the execution of Winterisation. We were able to be able to provide firewood and warm clothing for our orphans to keep themselves warm.