Over 1 million dollars for victims of floods in BiH and Serbia

No one knows when floods, earthquake or fire can strike, but it is a well-known fact that children always suffer the hardest consequences in natural disasters. Save the Children works in the field, providing direct assistance to those in need, working to ensure safe and healthy environment for children. This was also the case with recent floods that hit Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Serbia.

As soon as May 14, Save the Children actively joined activities in providing humanitarian assistance to those endangered by the floods, distributing, together with partner organisations in the field, rubber boats for evacuation, electricity generators, water pumps, dehumidifiers, raincoats, rubber boots, shovels, gloves, protection masks, disinfection products, personal hygiene kits, baby care and nutrition packages...

"The very first day since the state of emergency was declared, we ensured 100,000 US dollars and directed those funds towards procurement of life saving equipment that was distributed to several locations in BiH and Serbia. Following that, our main concern is the safety and welfare of children, because we know they are the most vulnerable ones in emergencies. For that purpose, we managed to secure over one million dollars,” says Andrea Zeravcic, Director of Save the Children.

Four days of continuous rain in mid-May caused the biggest floods since records began in BiH and Serbia, and with landslides that followed, the official estimate is that 3.27 million persons are directly affected in both countries, while Save the Children estimates that this number includes at least 275,000 children.

Save the Children teams were on the field as soon as the water withdrew, in order to directly assess the needs of the affected population and they witnessed a catastrophic situation.

"We visited a school that was largely destroyed. Instead of students in the hallways were large amounts of mud and chairs and benches scattered by the water. Lectures were suspended and it is likely that some schools, due to the damage, will not be ready in time for the start of the new school year in September,“  indicates Ahmed Pjano, Head of Emergency Response Team in B-H and Serbia.

Following field visits and assessment of needs, we have developed a Response Strategy in order to contribute to the mitigation of consequences for children and families. From the perspective of water, sanitation and hygiene, the water sources were contaminated by floodwaters and huge piles of debris blocked water and sewage channels – increasing the risk of disease. Therefore Save the Children decided to distribute hygiene kits, personal protection kits and cleaning kits for safe clean-up of homes. Schools and preschool institutions were devastated by the floods, while school equipment and teaching and learning materials were lost to the floods, thus Save the Children provided clean-up equipment for schools, water pumps and dehumidifiers and, additionally, funds for reconstruction and equipping of schools and preschool institutions. The floods also devastated family homes and livelihoods. Save the Children helps families to return to their homes through distribution of cleaning items and disinfection products and vouchers for purchasing non-food items.

Children are severely affected by this disaster and suffer from psychosocial distress due to displacement, the loss of their homes and loved ones, the destruction of their schools and the overall disruption to their lives as they knew it only a month ago. Save the Children further directs its efforts towards ensuring conditions for children to overcome traumas caused by this natural disaster. We establish Child Friendly Spaces – spaces where children can continue to learn and develop during and after the crisis situation. Child Friendly Space also allows parents to temporary leave their children in an environment that is safe and monitored, so they can focus on existential issues such as cleaning and reconstruction of their homes or finding and renewal of sources of income. Until this moment, 15 Child Friendly Spaces are open or are about to be opened, out of which five are established in cooperation with UNICEF.

"We are actively working on the opening of several Child Friendly Spaces in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Serbia. As of this week, 4 mobile Child Friendly Spaces are operational in Obrenovac and Lazarevac and on the very first day one of them opened it received 96 boys and girls. We were all thrilled to see that!" says Nevena Milutinovic, Deputy Head of Emergency Response Team in Serbia.

Save the Children gives its modest contribution to improving the situation of children and families affected by the floods. Our activities and humanitarian work continues towards the creation of necessary conditions for the well-being of communities that have suffered the greatest damage.