CRS ­ Catholic Relief Services

Reviving cities and villages

The Banja Luka office of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has been entrusted by the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) with rebuilding damaged and destroyed houses in nearby Kotor Varos.

By Nail Osmancevic

The rebuilding project began in August 1998 and includes 37 houses (14 Croat, 12 Serb and 11 Bosniak) in urban and rural areas of the town. The houses were abandoned during the war and up until now most of the displaced Croats have been living in Glamoc while the Bosniaks have been staying in Sanski Most. The majority of the Serbs have been living in Kotor Varos in houses belonging to displaced Croats and Bosniaks. Their own houses have either been heavily damaged or completely destroyed.

The deputy head of CRS's Banja Luka office, Tamara Radlovic, says that most of the houses have now been rebuilt and have families living in them.

Meanwhile, those Serbs who had been living in houses owned by Croats and Bosniaks have also started going home. They are generally willing to return properties to their pre-war owners once they are sure that their own houses have been rebuilt.

Returnee packages

CRS has developed what it calls 'returnee kits' that are designed to help returning displaced persons to begin really living in their new houses. The kits are worth 800 DM and can be used to help buy basic agricultural machinery, farm animals, cooking utensils and clothing.

Another European Commission-backed project that is being run by CRS in Pritoka, near Bihac is also worth mentioning. The organisation is currently overseeing the reconstruction of 20 houses in Mrkonjic Grad, which will be made available for returnees from all ethnic groups. Ten of the houses have already been earmarked for Serb families.

On a smaller scale, CRS has also helped returnees carry out repairs to their homes in cases where houses have not been completely destroyed. Without this help, the returnees say they would not have been able to come home.

"Youth initiative"

"Thanks to ECHO funding we have been able to set up 20 youth projects in Kotor Varos worth a total of 20,000 DM", said Tamara Radlovic, deputy head of CRS's Banja Luka office. The schemes form part of the "Youth initiative" programme, which enables young people between 18 and 25 to apply for funding for 'mini-projects'.

Among other things, the initiative has allowed young people to set up judo, fishing and women's handball clubs as well as aerobics classes and an internet project. The young people living in Kotor Varos say that while the scheme may only have provided them with a small amount of money, it has really made a difference to their lives.

Elsewhere, Milan Djekanovic, who came back in his village of Grabovica, also says he is grateful to CRS for the work it has done: "I was living in a Bosniak house in Kotor Varos because my own home was old and partially damaged. Now it has been rebuilt and is a very comfortable apartment. I have water and electricity and I have only the donor organisation to thank for that", he said.

It is expected that the American non-governmental organisation, USAID, will soon carry out an electrification scheme in Kotor Varos. This would mean a great deal to the town, which before the war was one of the least developed in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Preparing return to Banja Luka

CRS is also preparing a project to aid the return of Bosniaks and Croats to Banja Luka. The proposal will be submitted to ECHO in the near future and considering the level of success CRS has achieved up until now it is fully expected that the scheme will get the green light.

For more information:
Catholic Relief Services
tel.: + 387 58 2 23125
tel.: + 387 71 205 827/8/9
fax: + 387 71 205 373
e-mail: crs_sa@zamir-sa.ztn.apc.org