Thirty years of support, hope, and togetherness: we marked 30 years of work in the Balkans!
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With a formal ceremony attended by long-term partners, associates, employees, and friends of Hilfswerk International, we marked 30 years of successful activity and humanitarian mission in the Balkans.
Headquartered in Vienna, Hilfswerk International has been providing humanitarian aid and development support worldwide since 1978. We began our mission in the Balkans three decades ago by opening an office in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where we have been actively operating since 1996, becoming synonymous with restoring the dignity of the most vulnerable segments of society.
The beginning of our work in 1996 was marked by emergency reconstruction programs in Sarajevo, Travnik, and Jajce, where 319 family homes were rebuilt with the support of the Republic of Austria. To this day, Hilfswerk International has economically empowered more than 25,000 individuals and beneficiaries, providing over 8,000 grants for starting small businesses.
Through more than 120 implemented projects, the initial mission has evolved into adaptability and readiness to respond to contemporary challenges and societal needs. This has expanded our mission into the areas of social protection and inclusion, strengthening migration management, asylum, and return processes, further promoting and advocating for human rights, as well as continuing to provide disaster response and relief.
Since 2021, Hilfswerk International has also been transferring Austrian standards and a 40-year-long tradition by establishing the social care institution "Hilfswerk House of Support" (Hilfswerk Kuća podrške). This institution provides mobile home care services for the elderly and other people in need, enabling them to have a better quality of life in their own homes and preventing institutionalization.
This milestone anniversary provides an opportunity to express our deep gratitude to donors, local institutions, individuals, and partner organizations from BiH and the region, who have made an outstanding and invaluable contribution to improving and building local and regional capacities by addressing contemporary societal challenges together with us.
Hilfswerk International remains committed to its mission: being a source of support and hope. Hand in hand – we continue to empower for a better future!
