Muslim Aid Bosnia Walks to Remember Srebrenica Refugees

Muslim Aid Bosnia field office will be taking part in the Srebrenica Walk, or “Peace March”, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which commemorates the deaths of 30,000 Bosnian Muslims killed in Srebrenica during the 1992-1995 conflict. The 100 kilometre walk, from 8th -10th of July, is a three day long walk across the hills and woods of Eastern Bosnia that will take the same path as the refugees who were killed while trying to escape the fighting and reach the safe territories in the country's north.

Participants from all ages and all parts of the world will start from the safe territory in Nezuk, Sapna Municipality and will end in Donji, Potočari-the reverse of the original walk- with camping stops along the way. At the end, the walkers will reach the town of Srebrenica to commemorate the 14th anniversary of those who lost their lives.

Muslim Aid Bosnia field office are aiming to raise £10,000 which will be used to fund a mobile library and IT centre for children in remote communities in Eastern Bosnia who do not have access to book and skills training.

The centre will provide free training for children and young people in  IT skills and the library will provide free languages classes (in English and German) as well as access to a wide range of books, documentaries and educational materials. The campaign was launched due to the success of a previous mobile IT centre, started 2 years ago, which has since trained over 340 people.

“The mobile library will move from town to town, giving children and young people in remote areas access to knowledge, leisure activities and provide a place to get together and make friends. Not only will it have books but also a laptop and projector where documentaries, films and cartoons will be projected for the children.  We would also like to use the library for storytelling, arts and crafts.” said Edina Šehić, Country Representative for Muslim Aid Bosnian Field Office.

The project is under the umbrella of the Rainbow Family Programme in Bosnia which provides sponsorship for orphans or children from disadvantaged families. Every Rainbow Family child has lost at least one member of his family during the conflict or were forced to flee their homes.

On June 11th, , 35 Rainbow family children completed a shorter version of the Srebrenica Walk with Muslim Aid staff and volunteers. The children completed the walk in 4 hours after which the boys stopped for games of football and the girls played volleyball and completed puzzles. It was an opportunity for the children to honour those who had lost their lives and commerorate their history.

• If you are interested in sponsoring Muslim Aid Bosnia on the Srebrenica Walk, to raise money for a mobile IT centre and library, please donate now online  . Select 'Campaigns', then 'Bosnia mobile and IT centre'.

• If you are interested in taking part, click here

The walk is organised by the Board of Committee for the Commemoration of Srebrenica Genocide supported by the Federal Ministry for Refugees, Armed Forces of B&H, Muslim Charity Organisation "Merhamet", Red Cross Society of B&H and Red Cross of the Federation of B&H.