EU Support to Flood Recovery Project: Better Conditions for the School in the Heart of the Community

Floods that hit the central and southern parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina on October 3 and 4, 2024, badly damaged Primary school “Ivan Goran Kovačić” and local infirmary in Gojevići near Fojnica. 

“Unfortunately, water entered the school, the roof could not withstand the force of the rain, and there was more than half a meter of mud in the schoolyard. Children did not go to school for 17 days,” says Mirjana Golub, the school principal. The school has a total of 150 pupils. “After those days passed, we returned them to their classes, but in improvised conditions.”

Through the EU Support to Flood Recovery in Bosnia and Herzegovina project, financed by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the school’s roof will be reconstructed and a new façade with thermal insulation will be installed. In this way, not only will the school building be renovated, but its functionality and energy efficiency will also be significantly improved.

Mirjana especially emphasizes that part of the school building houses the local infirmary in Gojevići, which serves around 1,500 residents from the surrounding area. The infirmary will also have its roof reconstructed and a new façade installed.

The total value of the planned works on the school and infirmary is approximately BAM 400,000.

“The renovation will benefit the well-being of the entire community,” explains Mirjana. As a child, she attended the same school she now leads. “For me, this is especially emotional. This school is the centre of the village, and we all rely on it and its space — the local community boards, parents’ council, sports clubs, the infirmary, everyone.”

In addition to the renovation of these two public objects, the natural disaster from October caused great damages to many homes in Fojnica and its surrounding areas. Through EU project, three new houses will build for families who lost theirs, while 15 objects that were damaged will be renovated. 

EU support to floods recovery in Bosnia and Herzegovina project, worth 20 million euros, is funded by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The project is designed to respond to the needs of the population in communities directly affected by the natural disaster in October 2024, with a special focus on socially and economically vulnerable populations, multi-member households, the unemployed, people with disabilities and other marginalized groups. 

In addition to the reconstruction of public institutions, the project envisages the rehabilitation and construction of housing units, reconstruction of public institutions and local infrastructure, as well as support to agricultural producers and small and medium-sized enterprises in the restoration of their businesses.