BOSNIAN FUNDRAISER FOR FLOOD VICTIMS IN BIH BY CHRIS MATHIEU AND BOSNIAN AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF MILWAUKEE

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 11^th 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….

https://www.facebook.com/BosnianAmericanAssociation

A link to the fundraising site…

https://www.facebook.com/events/1470782426504302/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

 

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.