The rehabilitated Elementary School “19. April” in Derventa was reopened today, symbolically marking the beginning of the new school year. The school suffered severe damage during the floods in June 2010 and in May 2014. The total value of EU investment for the school’s post-flood rehabilitation was 52,842.47 EUR (103,350.89 BAM), and the rehabilitation works included electricity refitting, new sanitary systems, new flooring, joinery replacement, refurbishing of walls and a new facade. The school has a total of 677 students, and classes were organised without obstructions while the rehabilitation works were ongoing.
“We are very happy that the financial support provided by the European Union has enabled the rehabilitation of the Elementary School “19. April“ after the floods and thus enabled the pupils to resume their education. This is an important step in normalising the lives of the flood-affected communities in Derventa, which is also the overall objective of the EU Floods Recovery Programme. We are implementing similar recovery works across the flooded areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the aim to assist the people and communities who have suffered hardship due to the floods. Supporting the communities to recover and to be more resilient in the future are the cornerstones of the EU’s assistance to the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Andy McGuffie, the Spokesperson of the EU Delegation to BiH and EU Special Representative.
“On behalf of this institution, our students and myself personally, I would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to the European Union for investing the funds in the rehabilitation of our school. This has brought new joy to the faces of our 677 students, as they will now grow up in better, healthier and more humane conditions,” said Dragica Đekić, the School Principal.
The EU Floods Recovery Programme was launched to restore normal living conditions in local communities and ensure that the aid reaches the most vulnerable people in the aftermath of floods in May 2014. Funds are being used to restore public services and infrastructure, reconstruct housing units for the most vulnerable ones, and for social and economic recovery of local communities. The value of the overall programme was 43.52 million, of which 42.24 million were provided by the European Union.
This assistance is a part of the funds that the European Union pledged at the donor conference in Brussels in July. The activities of the EU Floods Recovery Programme focus on reconstruction of 4,000 housing units for approximately 14,000 residents, rehabilitation of key public services and infrastructure (including schools, medical facilities, water supply and sewer, and smaller roads and bridges) at 50 sites, as well as providing assistance to retain and generate around 2,000 jobs in flood-affected areas.
The programme is implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
