The Bosnian American Association of Milwaukee and
Chris Mathieu have organized a fundraiser to assist a few families who suffered
from the devastating floods in BiH in May of this year. Chris Mathieu is a
journalist with eurobasket.com and a member of the Institute Research Genocide
which specializes in dealing with the war in Bosnia and its aftermath.
On October 11th 2014 they will hold a
Fundraising dinner, cultural event and silent auction to benefit families
affected by the flooding. 100% of the money raised will go directly to help
families affected by the flooding. There will be a dinner, music, documentaries
about Bosnia and Herzigovina and a silent auction. A selection of traditional
Bosnian food and music will be included and some important documentaries about
Bosnia and her history will also be shown.
Contributors to the silent auction include the
Milwaukee Bucks, Bill Carter of Miss Sarajevo fame, Jasminko Halilovic,
Abdullah Pejkic, Roger Richards, Harun Mehmedinovic and representatives from
Davison College among others have contributed to the silent auction and
fundraising efforts. The Milwaukee Bucks donated tickets to be raffled off;
Bill Carter donated a signed copy of Miss Sarajevo documentary and a signed
copy of his book “Fools Rush In”. Jasminko Halilovic donated three signed books;
Abdullah Pejkic donated an original photograph as did Roger Richards and Harun
Mehmedinovic. Others donated some money that was unable to attend the event.
The Bosnian American Association wants Bosnians who
know people in desperate need to contact them via their Facebook site or the
fundraising link on Facebook and to nominate people who are in desperate need
of help. They will evaluate who needs help the most and will select 4-5
families who are in desperate need of help. The funds raised will be sent to
someone in BiH who will oversee their disbursement process and will ensure the
money gets to the families and will be properly used for supplies, medicines,
food or materials needed to rebuild their homes and lives. Pictures will be
posted on the Facebook site and you will be able to follow the people that you
help.
A link to the Bosnian American Association of
Milwaukee….
A link to the fundraising site…
What we are hoping for is to raise awareness that
the need is still there to help the people of BiH after the devastating
flooding. Due to the problems facing Bosnia before this catastrophe it has made
recovery much more difficult. We are also hoping to give some hope to families
affected by the flooding that they know that they have not been forgotten
about, that people are aware of what happened and that we want to give them
hope that they are not alone in their time of need.
Ultimately we want to encourage other expatriate
communities to organize similar fundraisers in their communities, to realize it
doesn’t have to be a difficult process and that they can do the same thing in
their communities around the world and in the US. When you give money to
organizations the trickle down aspect means your donation doesn’t always reach
those in needs. In this setting we plan on 100% of all proceeds going to
directly help those affected by the flooding and to give some hope that they
will have a better future.
I know people who have died from the stress related
to this flooding that has left too many feeling abandoned and hopeless. We are
hoping restore a bit of hope in the lives of people that have already faced too
much in their lives.
