World Vision BiH and Caritas Bishops Conference BiH united their capacities and strengths in order to participate in the humanitarian operations in situations where natural and other disasters endanger human life.
With this in mind, World Vision and Caritas signed a Memorandum that defines future cooperation between these two organizations.
The goal of the Memorandum is to establish the basic principles related to fostering cooperation, forms of cooperation, as well as a mutual role in lending support to endangered peoples, especially to children and families.
As a result of the signing of the Memorandum, World Vision handed to Caritas donations of clothes and shoes, blankets, school supplies and other things worth around 12,000 US dollars.
The donations will be given to vulnerable peoples in BiH through Caritas.
The Director of Caritas Diocese of Mostar-Duvno Trebine, Ante Komadina, thanked World Vision for their help and understanding, and said that ‘’we have to be aware how humanitarian and charitable organizations are increasingly leaving BiH and that now there are fewer, not because they want to leave and are not willing to help us any longer, but because they are needed to help in other parts of the world with bigger and more pressing needs.
The Director of Caritas BiH Miljenko Stojić said that the situation in our country is unfortunately bleaker than it appears, especially in the field, but points out that there are still people who think of BiH and its citizens, and continue to help them.
‘’There are a lot of problems in this country, and vulnerable people suffer the most. It seems to me that within BiH there continues to be a lack of cooperation and political factors and those who deal with social work’’, said Friar Miljenko, adding how his goal is to show how Caritas and World Vision have a different approach to helping others than those who hold state-level positions.
The National Director of World Vision in BiH Hans Bederski said how his organization seeks a society that is friendly towards children and that is based on community trust, where every child has hope, equal opportunity and that is sufficiently empowered to establish their full potential.
“From 2008 World Vision BiH delivered 830 tons of humanitarian aid worth over 5.3 million US Dollars to thousands of families who are affected by poverty or natural disasters’’, said Bederski. He added how this Memorandum and cooperation with Caritas World Vision aims to protect children in BiH from natural disasters, and to help secure their existence and to continue with their lives.
