How Covid-19 is affecting our work in Bosnia-Herzegovina

The national emergency status ended on May 31^st with only a few restrictions remaining.

Open air gatherings with a maximum of 300 people spaced at 2m apart, or 100 people indoors spaced at 2m apart, and wearing masks, was permitted. Most companies restarted their activities, but schools and universities remain closed. Every regional authority or county can now impose extra restrictions based on their local situation should they be required. Some have already reduced the number of people allowed at indoor meetings to 50, and outdoors to 100. After a week with numbers of only 2 or 3 cases in the country, we are now back to 50 to 70 daily, so the virus is back. Last week we had 353 new cases.

We are presently working on the F2F updates, as well as the necessary withdrawals and new enrolments. We are taking care of our beneficiaries, and our monthly distributions, including that of the soup kitchen continue. Senior care is continuing with regular new enrolments. We are missing indoor visitation and group gatherings, but there is good and regular communication with beneficiaries. The plan is to do as much as authorities allow.

Two weeks ago, even traditional summer camps for the children were realistic, but with the new spread of the virus, we remain cautious. We will perhaps suggest a one-day summer camp, but the timing will depend entirely on the situation in July.

Greetings from Dalibor

Field country manager Dalibor Kojic has worked with MWB since 2009. He said, “Bosnia-Herzegovina is the least evangelised country in Europe, but believers, even though they are few, are strong in faith. The message of the gospel and revival is very needed, to open eyes to see the beauty of God. More than anything, this country needs people who will pray and fast for it and seek the outpouring of the Spirit to heal the land. Listening to our church partners is very important and it is important for us to help strengthen them. From both sides, we share the same vision, we have a lot of experience and hope to find humble servants to join us in our mission.

"Both the families we serve, and our team, who are brave and tireless, are fighting relentlessly with a holistic approach to restore our nation. It seems like it will not get much better soon, but we do not look merely at the physical reality; we look with a heart of faith. We are to trust that the One who has started the good work in us and around us, fulfils His promise. Our Mission is not about barely surviving, but with deep desire and compassion, making people’s lives better.

"Thank you for contributing in bringing change and hope into many lives in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Connected by love, we are all craftsmen in God’s work.”

Haunted by the war

The past still haunts Bosnia-Herzegovina, where the brutal conflict in the early 1990s left the country’s infrastructure and economy in ruins, and many people deeply traumatised. An estimated 400,000 people suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Deep ethnic and political divisions still tear the nation apart, reflected in and exacerbated by its complicated system of government. At our Soup Kitchen in Glamoc, however, we are overjoyed to see Croats, Serbs and Bosniaks becoming friends and sharing their lives. They are elderly war refugees who have settled in Glamoc from 46 different municipalities, and many of them are broken after losing loved ones and their homes in the war. We provide them with emotional and spiritual support, as well as practical help.

Bosnia-Herzegovina’s unemployment rate (25%) is the highest in Europe and the third highest in the world. 15% of citizens cannot afford basic services, such as food, clean water, fuel or healthcare. We support families living in poverty in Mostar, Bugojno and Tuzla, shining the light of Christ’s love into a country where only 0.01% of the population are evangelical. Through our emotional and practical support, we help people overcome the past and move toward a better future.