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Time for Healing in Bosnia
Since Bosnia’s civil war ended in late 1995, NATO peacekeepers have helped raise security levels, increase industrial production, and repair 400 schools. But their presence has done much more. It has helped clear the way for nongovernmental organizations such as World Vision to respond effectively and efficiently to Bosnians in need during the two years of tenuous peace.
And the outlook for continued assistance has improved. On December 18, 1997 President Clinton announced his decision to keep U.S. troops in Bosnia as part of the NATO force indefinitely. This move delighted Bosnians, who see NATO troops as the main guarantee for long-term peace in Bosnia, according to an ABC news report from Sarajevo. Aid organizations like World Vision also applaud the decision, welcoming the prospect of continued stability under which to serve the people of Bosnia.
During NATO’s two years of peacekeeping, World Vision has:
Weatherized 2,515 apartments, 65 schools, and five health clinics.
Reconstructed 477 front-line war-damaged homes.
Administered loans (ranging from $3,000 to $20,000) and business training to more than 300 people.
Promoted healing in the lives of 20,000 war-traumatized primary school children and 650 teachers.
Conducted reconciliation and conflict resolution training workshops for community leaders.
Yet the deeper healing in Bosnia has just begun as people learn to adjust to living without family members who were killed in the fighting, or living and working as refugees in a disrupted economy. Our staff in Bosnia are committed to helping survivors through the long process of healing.
As NATO maintains stability, World Vision staff, assisted by the prayers and support of our donors, will continue to take on their bold objectives for FY98:
With full funding, World Vision will repair another 761 homes, 1,400 apartments, 25 schools, and 10 health clinics.
As microenterprise loans continue to be repaid, World Vision will disburse up to 400 new loans this year.
World Vision’s trauma healing program, with full funding, will impact another 7,500 children, 250 teachers, and 1,000 parents or guardians.
World Vision’s Church Relations and Reconciliation program will continue to build trust among and between communities.
Please pray for our staff in Bosnia as they work diligently to bring wholeness to the people of Bosnia.
Seed Shipments to North Korea
Thanks to the continued generosity of donors, World Vision is now sending $350,000 worth of seed and fertilizer to famine-troubled North Korea. The barley seed, expected to be planted in March, will produce a harvest of 13,223 tons in June--worth almost $2 million and enough to feed more than 61,000 people for an entire year.
Warmth and Shelter for China’s Earthquake Victims
It was a bitter minus 13 degrees Fahrenheit when an earthquake struck northern China on January 10. More than 400,000 homes collapsed. At least 50 people were killed, and another 14,400 were injured. Half a million survivors of the earthquake are fighting death and disease in the frigid winter weather, which brought snow and colder temperatures just days after the quake.
More than 300 aftershocks, some surpassing 4.0 on the Richter scale, trailed the initial 6.2 earthquake. Many residents from Hebei, the affected province, suffered broken limbs or were burned by fires that followed the quake.
A three-member World Vision disaster assessment and relief team, led by World Vision China’s chief operating officer, arrived in the affected area located about 136 miles northwest of Beijing. The team--reported to be the first international nongovernmental organization allowed in the area--immediately began procuring tents and other relief supplies with funds provided through World Vision Hong Kong.
Other World Vision offices, including WV United States, are considering how they might contribute to the estimated US$1.92 million needed to:
Purchase relief items such as cotton-padded tents, blankets, winter clothes, coal stoves, and medicines
Carry out long-term rehabilitation.
Please remember these victims in your prayers.
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