Final report for cooperative agreement EUR-0016-A-00-4065-00 to United States Agency for International Development

The report covers the period 9/94-6/96 against a PACD of 10/96. The project resulted in the economic revitalization of beekeeping and fishfarming industries; the start-up of 7 small enterprises; social integration activities that involved over 12,000 persons; the repair of several hospitals and schools; restoration of electricity in business districts and homes; the creation of 500 jobs directly and many others indirectly; trauma therapy for children through the use of art; and environmental activities and education. In all, the project provided key relief and rehabilitation assistance to some 118,000 persons, creating a healthier socioeconomic environment in central Bosnia (Travnik Canton), and thus the foundation on which ethnic reconciliation can, it is hoped, be achieved and the rate of the returning population improved. The project also helped leverage funding from other sources, including British ODA, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, FAO, and OFDA, allowing implementation of other, complementary activities. Although by the project"s end, ethnic reconciliation remained more of a goal than widespread reality, this project and the activities of other PVOs/NGOs have unquestionably led to economic and social improvements that will lead to the achievement of the goal. Further, this project, through certain operational realities, required Serbs, Muslims, and Croats to work together on common problems and solutions, and that work will, it is hoped, translate into more meaningful and long-lasting rapprochement. The major challenge encountered in implementation was the war itself, often making routine tasks daunting and at times life-threatening. The final 10 months of the project were implemented in the context of the Dayton Peace Accords. And while the cease-fire was and has been welcome, the post-war period, with a shattered economy and enormous suspicion among groups, poses its own set of complex challenges. (Author abstract)