Rebuilding Education in Bosnia

World Hope International continues to work to rebuild areas of the world devastated not only by poverty and disease, but also by war. In Bosnia, WHI’s Adopt-A-Classroom program works to rehabilitate schools in areas still recovering from years of civil war. Recently, the WHI office in Livno, Bosnia, began work on the village school in nearby Drzanlije. This is their brief account of the work and of what still needs to be completed:

In planning for our third summer of Adopt-A-Classroom we received a request from a village school. Currently a one room schoolhouse, they asked if we would be willing to help by renovating and constructing an interior wall that would allow them to have two classrooms. Our original plan was to complete this project as a part of Adopt-A-Classroom 2008. However, this school is in need of more than simply a team of willing hands and hearts.

Because the construction of a wall requires special labor, the school is going to need a team of volunteers skilled in laying cement and another team who can install drywall walls and ceilings. We would like to spread hope in this village by helping them improve their school. So instead of rushing this project to be completed this summer, the target date has been moved to the summer of 2009 so we have ample time to find a team of people who are able to help.

In the meantime, we will be working with local authorities to repair the school’s leaking roof in preparation of the Adopt-A-Classroom 2009 interior repairs. If you, or someone you know, would like to help with this project, we are looking for people who are willing to volunteer their time, skills, and/or finances to construct a wall and help repair this village school. We will need a team of people who have experience in construction, cement, and drywall. We would love to hear from you if you believe that you would be able to contribute to making this dream a reality for the village of Drzanlije. To let us know you are interested or for more information, email Matt Lawrence at: bosnia@worldhope.net

To learn more about our work in Bosnia, visit our Bosnia country page.