2005, September

Dear friends, I'd like to keep everybody up to date and I intend writing updates on a regular basis. The first thing I would like to talk about is the Bosnian sponsor fund that is now up and running. An account has been set up in England to collect payments and so far we are sponsoring a 72-year-old lady called Ramza and a family who have a Down's Syndrome daughter called Merima.

Some of Ramza's goats.

Ramza

Ramza is a lady who lives alone in a small run down house on the edge of town. She keeps goats and generates some income from these. So far, we have sponsors paying via standing order and if there is anybody out there able to spare £3 per month for Ramza it would be a great help.

In the last few months we have had her roof removed, repaired and refitted. New plumbing and taps have also been fitted to her bathroom. We have bought her a cooker and fridge as she didn't have anything to cook on. The shrapnel damage and bullet holes in the front of her house have now been repaired and rendered up. Some electrical repairs have now been made so all the lights work.

Before I left this time I bought her a bed settee as she had nothing to sleep on. As for future help, Ramza needs a good quality sleeping bag for the winter (a time of the year there which can see temperatures drop to -20℃). Argos sell these so I will take one with me next time. Also, a small carpet to cover the concrete floor will help her to keep warm. The total cost of the work carried out is 2,250 km (£803).

Merima

Our second family benefiting from the sponsor fund is Ajisa (mother), Adem (father) and their Down's Syndrome daughter Merima, now 20-years-old. This family are Muslims living in the Republika Serbska Bosnia. When we met them they had many problems that needed to be addressed before any sponsorship would help. Debt was the main problem–Ajisa looks like she will have a nervous breakdown at any time.

Her debts were out of control and these were not purchasing debts, they were for life essentials such as water, coal, electricity and rent. On an insufficiently small pension they were never going to survive. After giving it some thought, I got out my credit card and paid them off a total of 3,216 km (£1,148). I'm hoping someone in the UK will help us out with this bill. We then told her we will get her sponsorship so again, if any body can spare a few pounds a month we would be very grateful.

Mustafa

Ongoing work is the house building project for Mustafa. With help from Bosnians who have given us days and days of free labour, the small home we want to build for Mustafa is now taking shape. Within a week or two we hope to have the roof on, but as usual, funding the project has been difficult. The cost now stands at 4,860 km (£1,735). This is a pilot project so the total cost for completion is unknown. We hope to build similar small dwellings in the future so the total cost will need to be low.

The last family we helped before we left live in Croatia also needed a cooker and fridge. The cooker they had had for the last five years had only one ring working so feeding the family was a big job. We bought a cooker and fridge in Bosnia for a total of 750 km (£267). However, customs officials on the Croatian border would not let us through the border with them (that was until we put 50 km in the officials top pocket–then we had no problem and we were allowed through). Corruption is everywhere. Anyway, two hours later John and Marie had their new cooker and fridge so everything worked out in the end.

With all that is happening at the moment, funding is the main problem. However, I know of a house belonging to a family in Bosnia that needs a new roof, windows and doors before the winter. It's September now and winter is not that far away so can it be done in time? I don't know but we are going to try!