I recently told you that two of our Trustees, Amber and Ingrid are volunteering in Bosnia and Serbia for the next 2 weeks. On arrival they learned that our Partner Collective Aid have had to scrap their "Distro Van" making it really difficult to work effectively and help as many refugees as possible so we need to ask for your help to get them back on the road again please! Collective Aid provide essential items for hygiene, dignity and humanity to up to 400 men women and children per week
Alice from Collective Aid explains "3 weeks ago our van suddenly broke down and our trusted mechanic was unable to fix it, he said we'd literally run it into the ground! In winter we serve 80-120 people per day, in summer 100-150. Without the van we are unable to get aid to the men, women and children who are most vulnerable and need it most. We distribute essential items and cups of tea in 7/8 locations in and around Sarajevo and we are a real lifeline to around 1,500 people per month."
A new van will mean we can continue to serve the same number (min 1,500) of people on the move each month. In winter there are high needs, our current capacity cannot meet them. With a replacement van, we can keep up the high levels of positive impact we usually have, and be ready to respond if needs increase even further. We can't physically transport as many items, restricting our ability to move aid from place to place in general, and more importantly, the amount of donations we distribute.
We can continue to be a lifeline to at least 1,500 people per month in several areas of Sarajevo. In the next year a new van will drive approx 15k kilometres giving aid to minimum 11,000 refugees. Last year we distributed 44,240 aid items from toothpaste to sleeping bags and t-shirts to tents. As well as providing material aid we regularly have a hugely important emotional impact on the refugees we support by standing in solidarity, showing kindness and humanity
