Hilfswerk Austria

Return to Northwest Bosnia

The NGO Hilfswerk Austria is in charge of one of the largest return programmes in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The scheme it manages covers Una-Sana Canton in Federation BiH and the Western part of Republika Srpska. The programme is being funded by the European Commission to the tune of 6.1 million EURO. Hilfswerk Austria is also helping minority groups return to their homes in the Sarajevo suburb of Vogosca.

By Nail Osmancevic

Kozarusa ­ 50 houses rebuilt

In the Kozarusa settlement near to the town of Prijedor, Hilfswerk has already finished rebuilding 50 houses for Bosniak returnees. The new houses are the same size as the homes they replaced, which were destroyed during the war but the furnishings provided to returnees will depend on the number of people living in a particular household.

The returnees themselves helped with much of the construction work and several families have already moved into their new homes. As the houses are currently without electricity, Hilfswerk and the German organisation THW are working hard to provide power supplies. A local firm from Prijedor has won the contract to reconnect the houses to the town's water mains. Because most of the displaced people from Kozarusa are currently living in Serb houses in Lusci Palanka (Sanski Most municipality), the construction of the new dwellings effectively means two sets of displaced people will be able to return to the settlement.

The local authorities are actively trying to encourage displaced Serbs to return to their houses as soon as they have been vacated.

Displaced pensioners in Prijedor are also likely to be particularly grateful to the European Commission and Hilfswerk. During the month of June works to repair and rebuild an old people's home in the city of Sana will be finished. The Commission has invested around one million EURO in the complex which, when completed, will boast 166 beds and state-of-the-art medical equipment. A number of pensioners from nearby Ljubija will also move into the home and, for its part, the RS government has invested 115,000 EURO in the scheme to pay for the purchase of furniture.

Koprivna ­ reconstruction of houses, a school, a medical centre

Hilfswerk has been particularly busy in the village of Koprivna, which is in the Srpski Sanski Most region. The organisation is currently working to rebuild 150 houses in the area, 130 of which have already been completed. The average cost of building one of these new houses is 5,000 EURO but the figure would have been much higher were it not for the hard-working villagers who helped with the rebuilding work.

Meanwhile, Koprivna's children are now attending classes in the village's newly rebuilt school, which also boasts a refurbished playground. The school was rebuilt with the aid of an 80,000 EURO grant from the European Commission.

Commission funds of 25,000 EURO were also used to help rebuild a medical centre in Koprivna and additional funds have been made available to upgrade the village's electricity and water supplies.

Polyclinic

In the town of Ostra Luka, over 300,000 EURO have been spent on refurbishing the local Polyclinic, which is now open for business. New medical equipment will be arriving soon, which will enable the clinic's staff to offer treatment that was previously only available in neighbouring Prijedor.

In Sanski Most, the Commission and Hilfswerk have turned their attention to the housing needs of war invalids. The two organisations are currently working to provide specially adapted housing for ten invalids as part of a 200,000 EURO project.

Bosanski Petrovac and Bosansko Grahovo

Hilfswerk is also well known in the regions of Bosanski Petrovac and Bosansko Grahovo. The organisation is currently working to rebuild 80 houses in Bosanski Petrovac city itself and in the surrounding villages of Smoljani and Krnja Jela. In the city, 30 houses are being built for Bosniaks who are currently living in abandoned Serb homes. Once the Bosniaks move to their new accommodation the displaced Serbs whose houses they were occupying will also be able to return home.

Around 20 of the new houses have already been built and the remainder should be completed before autumn 1999.

The villages of Smoljani and Krnja Jela are also set to benefit from Hilfswerk's actions as the organisation is planning to re-establish local electricity supplies.

In the area around the town of Bosansko Grahovo, more than 70,000 EURO has been invested in projects to re-house returnees. In the villages of Resanovici, Zebe, Obljaj and Luke 74 houses have been rebuilt for Serb families and 14 for Croats. Most of the houses are now occupied.

Good co-operation

Good co-operation with the OHR, UNHCR, IPTF, local humanitarian organisations and non-governmental organisations is vital for Hilfswerk. Work has to be carried out on time and any problems have to be solved on the spot as they arise.

Unfortunately some decisions are not taken on time because of the 'silent resistance' of some municipal authorities. This means work on projects can be held up, delaying the return of displaced persons and refugees. However the situation has improved significantly over the past year and some municipalities are now even investing their own funds in Hilfswerk projects.

Seven years of activity

Hilfswerk Austria has been present in Bosnia and Herzegovina since 1992. During the war it delivered food, medicines, clothing, heating material to people in need.

Thanks to financial assistance from the Austrian Government Hilfswerk has been involved in the reconstruction of houses in the areas around Sarajevo, Travnik and Jajce since 1996.

The first project financed by the European Commission and implemented by Hilfswerk concerned the reconstruction of houses in Jajce and Jezero where the organisation repaired 20 houses for Bosniaks and 17 for Croats. In Jezero, a village close to Jajce, Hilfswerk rebuilt 19 houses for Bosniaks and the same number for Serbs thanks to ECHO funding in 1998. An integral part of this particular project was the distribution of livestock to returnees. Total investment in the scheme came to 400,000 EURO.

Contact person for Hilfswerk
Austria in Bosnia and Herzegovina:
Suzana Jasarevic, Head of Mission in BiH
Address: Jospia Stadlera 10
Sarajevo
Tel.: 071 230 847 or 071 668 119
Tel./fax: 071/230-849
E-mail: hwasa@utic.net.ba