Sponsorship, School and Ramadhan
Eleven years after conflict ended, Bosnia is still rebuilding itself. Nearly a fifth of the population live below the poverty line and accessing education is still a problem for children from poor communities.
Emir, 8, lives with his mother and four elder brothers in Kalesija in north-eastern Bosnia. His father suffered from lung cancer and kidney disease and died seven years ago.
The family now rely on his father’s minimal pension, but it is not enough. Both of Emir’s eldest brothers, Alen and Alem, work to supplement their father’s pension.
Sponsorship
Since 2005, Emir has been sponsored through Islamic Relief (IR) by a Canadian donor. Donors from USA have also sponsored his two brothers, Mustafa, 12, and Adin, 14.
The income from sponsorship helps the family to buy household essentials such as food, firewood and clothes. Emir’s mother also uses the sponsorship money to buy books for her sons.
Emir, Mustafa and Adin all attend school and have received stationery from IR each year. The three boys also went to IR’s summer school, where they had the opportunity to play sport, do arts and craft activities, receive health check-ups and learn about protecting the environment.
Ramadhan
Emir’s family received a Ramadhan food parcel from IR in 2006. The whole family expressed their happiness with the parcel, “May Allah almighty reward you with good health and happiness in this world and Jannah.”
In 2006 IR distributed Ramadhan food parcels to over 9,000 people in Bosnia.
Each parcel contained 2kg rice, 2 litres oil, 2kg beans, 2kg sugar, 3kg chicken soup, 500g soup, 400g pasta, 200g dates, 500g spices, 500g tomato puree, 850g corn, 300g beef stew and 200g coffee.
IR’s projects in Bosnia include education, livelihoods support and orphans sponsorship.
