In 1995, the enclave of Srebrenica, considered safe, was taken. More than 8,000 men and boys as young as 14 were separated from their mothers and wives, and subsequently killed. Thousands of women were left as widows, ‘the widows of Srebrenica’. They carry with them pain and trauma. Meanwhile, some of them are in need of help. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, there is no traditional home care system, and admission to a nursing home is often unaffordable.
Therefore, an elderly care centre was built in Potočari, a town northwest of the city of Srebrenica. The care centre targets not only the mothers and widows of Srebrenica, but also other vulnerable elderly people in poor financial circumstances without family support. It does so without distinction of religious or ethnic background. At the centre, the elderly find a safe and quiet place to live, receive a hot meal daily, receive medical assistance and regular visits.
To provide this care centre with a stable, uninterrupted supply of power and heat, a transformer station is built at this project. It was the final phase of the renewable energy project to achieve an energy-neutral care centre. Heat pumps were previously installed and solar panels installed to avoid the use of wood and coal.
Around 500 people benefit from the facilities every day. These include not only the residents of the care centre, but also the children of a day care centre and a nursery.
The project was implemented by Proplan Foundation and aid organisation IFS-EMMAUS with support from Wilde Ganzen. As the project still needed financial support during the completion phase, Active Health Foundation provided it.
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