Program Details: 
Restarting Broken Lives

Since 1993, throughout years of brutal war and hopeful recovery, Mercy Corps has served families in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Despite the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina ending over a decade ago and thousands of refugees and displaced persons returning to their pre-war homes, there are still many Bosnian refugees and displaced persons yet to return. Scattered around the region, they are eager to return home and re-start their broken lives.

Mercy Corps' main goal in Bosnia and Herzegovina is to accelerate and promote a chain of return, to consolidate returns that have already happened and to support the return communities affected by the war through revitalization and stabilization activities.

From its headquarters office in the city of Tuzla, Mercy Corps employs a staff whose expertise ranges from reconstruction to economic development and civil society.

Programs in Focus

Transfer of Assistance to National Structures for Effective Return
The TRANSFER program supported sustainable return through transferring responsibility for return-related activities to local authorities. The project enabled local authorities to fully plan and implement both present and future integrated return program, resulting in housing reconstruction and sustainable long-term jobs for returnee families.

Integrated Return in Northern Bosnia and Herzegovina
This project targeted returnee communities in eight municipalities, enabling them to achieve social and economic stability, as well as reintegration in their respective communities. Mercy Corps helped families reconstruct their pre-war houses, begin market-oriented agricultural production and create income-generating family businesses.

Srebrenica Striving for its Economic Revitalization
This project promoted the long-term sustainability of the returnee population in and around the town of Srebrenica, and contributed to elevating the area's economic development towards the national average. Mercy Corps helped foster the creation of full-time household jobs in competitive agricultural and non-agricultural production sectors, with the aim to strengthen the area though an influx of income and new investment from viable and stable outside investors.

Complementary Integrated Return Assistance to Residents of Collective Accommodation in Bosnia and Herzegovina
This program is supporting the return of displaced families who had been living in collective accommodation to their places of origin throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as promote their reintegration in receiving municipalities. The project will reinforce the efforts of the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees to facilitate return of 1,100 collective accommodation residents by reconstruction of essential technical infrastructure, provision of livelihood assistance and facilitation of social and economic reintegration of the returnee families.

Support to Economic Reintegration of Mine Victims through Job Creation in Communities with a Significant Degree of Minority Return
This program will support 90 landmine survivors with livelihoods assistance, while building the capacity of the returnee association to work on the issue of landmines. The program will also seek to raise employers' awareness and understanding regarding employment of people with disabilities.

Vehicles for Change — Utilizing Used Frying Oil as Fuel
Mercy Corps is establishing a pilot biodiesel plant in Tuzla, one of the most polluted towns in Bosnia. The plant will convert used frying oil collected from food producers, companies, restaurants, hospitals and factories into fuel for use in converted diesel vehicles and generators. The conversion of these vehicles and generators to biodiesel has the potential to significantly reduce CO2 emissions, while generating jobs and reducing environmentally damaging waste.

Production of Cost-Effective Solar Water-Heating Systems as a Vehicle for Development and Diversification of Small Businesses
The aim of the project is to capitalize on the wealth of entrepreneurial and technically skilled labor force in Gradacac, matching it with the market potential for innovative and cost-effective renewable energy saving technologies. Mercy Corps will support the diversification of three small businesses to produce cost-effective solar water-heating systems and install them on households, business facilities and a public building. This initiative has great potential to create new high-value jobs and reduce barriers to solar technology commercialization.

Support for Local Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
A key part of Mercy Corps' exit strategy in Bosnia and Herzegovina is to support the growth of a Bosnian NGO, Centar za Razvoj i Podursku (CRP), which translated means The Center for Development and Support. In addition to working in partnership with Mercy Corps on a range of programs, CRP has earned recognition in the development sector, in its own right, and has gained support and funding for a wide range of independent programs.