As you know, our heart is to provide relief and development support for people living in poverty and crisis around the world, wherever there is a need and we have a supply!
Our two humble containers have been bursting at the seams and so we are happy to report that across June and July we’ve been able to send two shipments! One of women’s and children’s clothes and bedding to a previous partner in Cluj Napoca, Romania, and one of men’s clothes, shoes and backpacks to Kompass 071 (Ines) in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Building our partnership with Kompass 071 in Sarajevo has been a blessing already in 2021. We were able to send another joint shipment of aid alongside RefugEase to Bosnia with almost 4000kg of men’s clothes, shoes, backpacks, sleeping bags, and other essential items. This aid will support many men in transition as they travel through Bosnia and Herzegovina in search of healthier and safer living situations.
"We are witnessing enormous suffering that people are going through... Somehow, our voice is still not so loud.”
Some of you may know that Kompass 071 is a community centre, the first one opened in Bosnia, where they offer a hot shower, laundry services, food, clothes and supplies to people seeking refuge in Europe via Croatia or Serbia.
According to Ines who runs Kompass 071, “Bosnia never managed to become properly talked about in the media regarding the migrant crisis because everybody is talking about Greece. But you have to think in a way that Greece is the entry point but Bosnia is the exit point.
Most migrants are transiting through this area (Bosnia & Herzegovina), trying to cross Croatia or Slovenia and go to either Austria or Italy, these so called ‘safe’ countries.
Unfortunately, as the migrants get caught in Croatia, they are pushed back to Bosnia. These are not normal pushbacks. People return without shoes, without jackets, in their underwear, completely beaten, humiliated, their phones taken, their money taken, their stuff burnt down. We are witnessing enormous suffering that people are going through, trying to cross the border to Croatia. This is something we have been witnessing for years now. Somehow, our voice is still not so loud.”
We at GAiN UK are dedicated to help those whose voice are not heard, who suffer injustice and are somehow forgotten. We believe that every life counts and deserves to receive unconditional love and help when they need it most.
Help us reveal hope and restore life. You can drop off your clothes donations at any collection point (on our homepage: www.globalaidnetwork.org.uk) or give here so we can send more aid.