Seven families from Kakanj receive keys to their new homes

Seven families from Kakanj, whose homes were destroyed in 2014 floods, received today keys to their new homes built through Flood Recovery – Housing Interventions Programme, financed by the European Union in cooperation with entity governments, Government of Zenica-Doboj Canton and partner municipalities and cities.

Beside the construction of new homes for these seven families, ten housing units were reconstructed to achieve appropriate living conditions. Value of these works is around 315.000 KM.

Handover of the keys of the newly built houses was done by Gianluca Vannini, Head of Operations Section for Social Development, Civil Society and Cross Border Cooperation, EU Delegation to BiH and Aldin Šljivo, Municipal Mayor of Kakanj. Handover was also attended by the representatives of the implementing partners: United Nations Development Programme and organisation Arbeiter Samariter Bund.

„In the past few years, European Union demonstrated its continuous support to the recovery of local communities affected by floods in 2014. European union stands shoulder to shoulder with BiH citizens, ready to support them to improve their lives“ said Vannini adding „Too many people have already left the country or are considering doing so if there is no improvement in sight. BiH needs to get to a situation where people can look forward to a fruitful life in their own country and EU is here to assist “.

„It is my honor to finish this honorable project here today“ said Mayor Aldin Šljivo adding „We, in Kakanj Municipality have been working on suppressing the causes floods and I hope that in future we will have as little as possible situations like this“.

Representative of implementing organisation, Arbeiter Samariter Bund’s director Elmir Bojadžić emphasized on the importance of joint cooperation. “Only in this way, jointly with local authorities, donors, international organisations, entity and cantonal governments we can achieve such impresive results and aims.”

After the handover, delegation visited one of the newly built houses in Kakanj.

 

Flood Recovery – Housing Interventions Programme represents the next phase in the European Union’s efforts to alleviate the catastrophic effects of the 2014 floods. The intervention, launched in September 2017, provides durable housing solutions, coupled with improved livelihood opportunities, for the most vulnerable families whose homes were damaged or destroyed in floods and landslides. The Programme, valued at 15 million euro, is funded by the European Union in cooperation with the entity governments of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), Republika Srpska (RS), Government of Zenica-Doboj Canton, and partner local governments. The Programme is implemented in 44 municipalities in BiH by UNDP in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund (ASB), Hilfswerk International (HWI).

Europa.ba