Recognizing that women survivors of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina
(BiH) desperately needed help putting their lives back together
after the conflict, Women for Women International
set up its first local program in 1994. Now, 10 years later, the
organization decided to take a look back at how things are going
for the women there today.
Though the Women for Women International sponsorships
and exchanges of letters were the pivotal first steps in helping
women war victims regain their former lives, perhaps their biggest
legacy will be the microcredit lending and training activities.
In a country where a decade after the war, women still face a
48 percent unemployment rate, efforts such as Women for
Women International’s are critically important.
Since the microlending program began in 1997, some 5,000
women have received more than 10,000 loans, with a value of all
the loans totaling approximately $10.7 million. As a result of
their efforts, some 3,000 small businesses have been created in
BiH, each one providing jobs, higher incomes than otherwise possible,
and new marketable business and trade skills. Equally
as important, these businesses provide income not only for the
women, but support for entire families. But the benefits don’t
stop there, because the local communities also benefit, as more
goods and services become available, and new linkages among businesses
develop, allowing them to share resources. Remarkably, there is
a 98 percent repayment rate on the loans.
So what do the clients mostly do with their training and loans?
Not surprisingly, their choices are practical, driven mainly by
needs and opportunities in their local communities. For example,
a woman may choose to purchase a cow so she can sell milk and
milk products; grow fruits and vegetables to sell at the local
market; or buy seeds, fertilizers and plastic covering to set
up a greenhouse. Other women sell textiles at the local market,
or market plastic kitchenware and equipment for the home, door-to-door.
Some clients have opened their own small shops or purchased a
sewing machine to establish a tailoring business, while others
have begun hair dressing salons or food services. Still other
women have created small wooden and woven handicrafts for the
home such as linen hangers, wine racks, placemats, small carpets
and wall hangings.
Ten years later, Women for Women International’s
efforts in Bosnia and Herzegovina are more than simply a collection
of letters, trainings and loans. Because the program is operated
and supported locally, the participants have a stake in its future.
Their success, along with the support of Women for Women International
and the sponsors and donors, ensures that they understand their
responsibility to bring women’s issues to the forefront
of their communities. Unlike the past, women’s rights and
economic, social and political contributions to their communities,
will no longer be something that is hidden. The role of women
in their communities is forever changed for the better.
