wfn.org | UMCOR at work in Bosnia

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3026 notes).

Note 3024 by UMNS on June 20, 1996 at 16:04 Eastern (6942 characters).

SEARCH:   Bosnia, Dirk Van Gorp, shelter, volunteers

  UMNS stories may be accessed on the Internet World Wide Web at:
                   http://www.umc.org/umns.html

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the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
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CONTACT:  Joretta Purdue                      310(10-21-71P){3024}
          Washington, D.C.  (202) 546-8722           June 20, 1996

UMCOR worker juggles projects
worth millions to aid Bosnia

     WASHINGTON (UMNS) -- A few years ago Dirk Van Gorp was a
building contractor in the mountains of upstate New York, but now
he heads the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) mission
in the former Yugoslavia.
     Van Gorp also administers millions of dollars in aid. Working
for UMCOR, a part of the denomination's Board of Global
Ministries, he oversees the expenditures of relief and
rehabilitation money granted by the United Nations and the United
States and other bodies for specific projects.
     Initially he signed up for six months in Bosnia in 1993 and
has extended his commitment as the opportunities have mushroomed
and the size of the staff has grown from six to about 240 people.
     One-third of a $30 million grant from the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees has been expended in the last three
months to procure and deliver building materials for families to
repair their homes to make them habitable again.
     This "self-help project," so termed because the families make
their own repairs with materials provided, is the largest UMCOR
has undertaken in Bosnia. Its goal is the repatriation of people
to their pre-war homes.
     Procuring $25 to $26 million worth of materials through
Bosnian manufacturers and companies "is a challenge in and of
itself," Van Gorp said. The project has required Van Gorp and his
staff to establish "in-depth relationships" with 50-60
governments, who distribute the materials to individual families.
     "We monitor the whole process from beginning to end," he
added.
     A limited amount from this grant -- about $1.5 million -- is
allocated to help people who are not able to make their own
repairs. "That's not nearly enough," he said.
     Another shelter project, also designed with repatriation in
mind, is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID). It targets specific villages and communities. Six or
seven non-governmental organizations have these contracts that
will repair 2,500 homes.
     UMCOR's responsibilities -- the largest portion -- are to
implement repairs to 700 homes and six schools in six
municipalities, using a grant of $6.45 million.
     Another USAID grant of $2.3 million, awarded in July of 1995,
targeted infrastructures. UMCOR has completed $2 million more of
these projects -- emergency repairs mostly on water and sanitation
systems of municipalities and villages in central Bosnia and
Sarajevo, Van Gorp said. "We are requesting more money to continue
this work. There is lots and lots of work in this area."
     Overall, the staff reflects the ethnic composition -- Serb,
Croat and Muslim -- of the areas in which they are employed, Van
Gorp noted. 
     UMCOR has eight offices. The one in Split, Croatia, is a
support location. Six offices, including Sarajevo, are in the
current Federation of Bosnia. One, Banja Luka, is "the big city in
the Serbska Republic," the area administered by the Serbs
following the Dayton agreement.
     In Banja Luka and in Zenica in the Federation of Bosnia, 
UMCOR works with the Orthodox relief agency to meet basic
emergency needs of refugees and displaced persons throughout both
areas. That project, which began this year, is funded by the U.S.
State Department.
     A much older project -- of about 16 months duration --
involves social intervention into the "very divided, very war-
damaged community" of Gornji Vakuf, reported Van Gorp. 
     For more than a year, the Croats and Muslims fired at each
other across the main road through town, he said, adding that aid
vehicles drove through as fast as they could while being escorted
by tanks. The shooting has stopped, but the city remains divided
with two names and two governments.
     A project funded by USAID tries to bring the community back
together through ventures for the common good that are negotiated
with both communities -- such as repairing the town's hospital and
sharing its use.
     "Physically from the outside it has the appearance of
repairing homes or schools or hospitals or water lines. In
reality, the bulk of the work is in fact in a relationship and in
this social intervention," Van Gorp commented. "The construction
part is the easy part. The other part is much more difficult."
     UMCOR has other programs there that are funded with UMCOR or
other money including a youth project that provides classes and
recreation for young people from both ethnic groups. A women's
group there has focussed on support and healing and has done some
income-generating activities.
     A conflict resolution specialist works with groups there once
a week, and three volunteer in mission teams will be working in
the city to rebuild the homes of people who are not able.
     He said the UMCOR projects in Gornji Vakuf have made a great
deal of progress, given the level of hatred that existed.
     Another important part of the work in Bosnia is working with
farm families in several communities, Van Gorp said. A program to
introduce quality breeding stock in food-producing animals is
underway to generate income as well as produce food.
     These programs have met with such success that "UMCOR expects
to expand into other (geographical) areas," Van Gorp said.
He added that no work is undertaken in areas that have not been
cleared of mines.
     Youth houses have been established in five communities, and
UMCOR hopes to create at least one more this year when funding
permits, he said. Classes and recreational activities bring
together both Croat and Muslim young people.
     The UMCOR community center in Sarajevo for older youth and
women offers classes and social activities. 
     In 10 or 11 refugee centers, UMCOR provides recreational-
educational activities for about 500 children 5-12 years old.
     Some of the women's projects have been formed with the help
of UMCOR, but others are pre-existing groups that have been
expanded with the help of UMCOR. Van Gorp cited Medica Zenica,
which had worked primarily with raped and traumatized women, and
now with UMCOR help offers training, education and women's health
services.
     Zena 21 is an organization formed by women in Sarajevo. "We
do lots and lots of work together," Van Gorp said. "We design
programs together and propose them (for funding)." He termed the
relationship a "very effective partnership."
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