On 16 November 2021, a presentation of the Mine Victims Assistance project for mine victims in BiH took place in Sarajevo, which was graciously attended by H. E. Ambassador Margret Uebber, and Military Attache Franz-Josef Nolte.
Mine victims assistance projects are incredibly important for the inclusion of the mine victims in socio-economic sphere of life, agreed all attendees at the presentation of the project that began in June 2021 and shall be completed by the end of the year. 55 survivors of mines, both female and male, will receive 60 customized and high-quality prostheses, as well as additional silicone covers to guarantee comfort. These will improve the quality of their life and ease their movement.
Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to BIH H. E. Margret Uebber who shared a few words listed social interactions and the improvement of private lives as a big part of the project. She also cited Safet Livaković, a mine victim included in the project, who compared his feelings of receiving good quality prothesis like “driving old and bad vehicle, and suddenly someone gives you a new Mercedes as a gift”. Mrs. Uebber also stated Germany will continue helping and participating in humanitarian aid, which fits into the larger mosaic of international aid directed toward BiH.
The project is funded by the German Federal Office Foreign Ministry through ITF and implemented by Mine Detection Dog Training Center (MDDC), who spoke about the significance of the project. “It is a project that celebrates life, encourages and gives hope. We all need hope in these difficult times,” said Marija Trlin, project manager for mine assistance at MDDC. She pointed out that the users had worn-out and inadequate dentures, which have now been replaced by quality protheses that are easier to use.
Other mine victims included in the project, such as Selma Guso, Amerisa Ahmetović and Ermin Jusufović, also expressed their gratitude and talked about the problems they face daily. They described the project as the life-changing experience, which Željko Volaš, Chairman of the Association of Amputees UDAS from Banja Luka, agreed with.
Germany has a long history of assisting and funding humanitarian demining projects and mine victims assistance project. In 2021, German Humanitarian Assistance (Deutche Humanitare Hilfe) donated through ITF more than 1 million EUR for Land Release project and Mine Victims Assistance in BIH.
We are happy and privileged to be a part of projects, that makes us realise just how important our work is and how much it can improve people’s daily lives. Once again, we would like to thank the German Government for their continuous and life-changing support.
www.itf.si