"I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink" Matthew 25:35

Thousands have lived without love, not one without WATER (W.H. Auden)

The ABCs of humanitarian service are food, shelter, medical care, and WATER. Dionne and I have began working on water projects the moment we arrived in Bosnia. We have cleaned drinking wells in Croatia, brought running water to school children in the village of Cikotska Rijeka, built septic tanks in Domaljevac, and fixed school bathrooms in Zinice and Sapna.

Bosnia was built around its beautiful and powerful rivers (rijeka). Every major city has a river flowing through it. Nearly every road either goes over a mountain or winds along a river. 

Ironically, as Day Two of the "Light the World" campaign highlighted the admonition "I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink," we were signing a contract to bring clean drinking water to the people who live in the village of Hrasno. LDS Charities initiated this project in 2013. The journey of this project is the subject of today's post.

Day Two - Light the World

The rain descended, and the floods came (Matthew 7:25)

In 2013 LDS Charities started a project with the municipality of Kalesija to bring drinking water to the village of Hrasno.

Unlike most rural communities in Bosnia which suffer from urban flight, Hrasno's population has increased dramatically in the past 30 years. Their water holding tank was originally designed to serve a community of 400 residents. But now there are over 2,000 residents. 

Half of the villages' residents have no running water; the other half sporadic. Those without water have to haul water to their homes from houses that have running water.

This street is the dividing line between the have's and the have not's. Houses to the left have water while houses to the right do not.

The basic deal was that the church would buy the pipe and materials for a new holding tank and the municipality of Kalesija (responsible for Hrasno) would do the installation. In 2013 plans were developed, materials purchased, contractors selected, and approvals were given.

The city engineer points out where the holding tank is to be built.

And then the heavens opened. In May of 2014, unprecedented rains caused severe flooding throughout Bosnia. Central Bosnia was particularly hard hit.

These are stock photos of the flooding damage across Bosnia. 

Maglaj

Near Visoko.

Aerial view of Doboj.

Kalesija and the surrounding communities were severely affected by the floods.

The main street of Kalesija.

The floods had a devastating effect on Hrasno. Despite being located on a slope, the existing holding tank flooded. This permanently contaminated the water in the holding tank and made it unsafe for drinking.

The location of the existing water tank. This is also where they were going to build the new holding tank.

Since 2014, Hrasno has not had safe drinking water. Boil or bottle has been the motto.

Love this vintage tractor in Hrasno.

The floods made all parties realize that the proposed location for the new holding tank was susceptible to future floods. So the municipality of Kalesija was tasked with drafting new plans and acquiring land-use permission.

The new location for the holding tank.

Unfortunately, the church had already paid a vendor for the materials to build the holding tank. The municipality asked that the vendor hold off on delivering these materials until after a new plan was drafted and approved.

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy 

Martin Luther King

We can learn much about others (along with ourselves) during times of difficulty. In am reminded of the immortal poetic words of Judge Smell...

"It's easy to grin when your ship comes in, and you've got the stock market beat, but the man worthwhile, is the man who can smile, when his shorts are too tight in the seat." Caddyshack

You can also learn a lot about an institution (or a church) by how it stands during times of challenge. The real culture of an institution becomes readily apparent when problems arise. "When the shorts are too tight in the seat."

When we arrived in 2016, we were asked to find out what was happening with the Hrasno project. There had been no communication for over a year. An election had occurred and there was a new major in Kalesija. All the church knew was that the new holding tank had not been built.

Meeting with the new administration October 2016.

Fortunately we had partnered with the Federation Red Cross. They remained in regular contact with Kalesija during the year. When we met with the new administration, they told us that they wanted to finish this project. They had secured a new location and were ready to begin construction the following spring.

Our friend Ilma who translated for us on this trip. This was taken on the way back from Kalesija.

We were simply waiting for the municipality to call us and tell us that the holding tank had been installed at the new site. The spring came and went with no call. The Red Cross kept checking. The municipality asked about the supplies. We sent the invoice and told them to retrieve them from the supplier.

Reviewing the new plans.

This summer we started to get indications that there was a problem. The municipality was not exactly forthcoming about the issue. But as we pressured, they finally asked us to come and meet with them.

In the main boardroom at Kalesija's mayor's offices.

The vendor that we had paid for the supplies had gone bankrupt 3 years earlier. Nobody had told us this. So there were no supplies for the project. No pipe. No cement. No metal cover. Nothing. We sat with the leadership of the municipality and the Red Cross and tried to figure out what to do. I reached out to our legal counsel and asked about the likelihood of bankruptcy recovery. We talked about trying to pressure the owner (a well-known Tuzla official who has money reserves) into "making this right." We discussed having high level officials from each of our organizations meet with him. Even to the point of threatening to meet with his current boss. It was actually quite fascinating to see how Bosnian politics really work.

But when I brought back the problem to the leaders of LDS Charities, I was heartened and encouraged by their response. First, they realized that we had made a critical error in judgment by paying for the supplies and not requiring immediate delivery. (We also should never have used this vendor in the first place either...a local friend has told me that his reputation is questionable). So the church immediately took ownership of their mistakes without trying to ascribe blame on others. And while we did pursue the bankruptcy court option, we had no interest in the "shaming" or "job pressure" strategy which the team had discussed.

Second, the church also realized that the need was still there. We were dispatched to visit Hrasno again, access the current water conditions, and to make recommendations on moving forward.

Touring the new holding tank site with local Hrasno leadership and my Red Cross friend, Davor. The head of the local town council has graciously offered part of his land as the site for the new holding tank. The main village is in the background.

Third, as much as possible, the church worked hard to make everything right again. Despite the dubious history of this project, more money was allotted to finish this project. Better controls have been put in place.

Signing day with the new major of Kalesija.

What a joy to work with an organization that can smile even when the "shorts are too tight in the seat." There was never any sense of anger, bitterness, distrust, or spite. Just a desire to do the right thing by everybody.

Signed contracts...now time to get to work!

Be the reason someone smiles today

With regards to our service here in Bosnia, Dionne and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We only have a handful of project remaining to finish. I was talking to Nermin, a Bosnian who has worked as a translator for LDS Charities since 2009. He said that his favorite project was bringing water to Novo Bila. At the closing ceremony, he met an 80-year old man who came up and shook his hand, thanking him profusely. The man said he had lived in this village all of his life and this is the first time he had had running water in his home.

This is the local leadership of Hrasno. They came for the contract signing ceremony. In my limited Bosnia I was able to tell them that my goal was "voda za Hrasno." It was an honor to sit on their porch and tell them that we were going to finish what we started.

My original goal was to see those same smiles in Hrasno. But I realize that it will not happen before I leave. So I may have to return in May and drink fresh water from the taps of Hrasno.

A bucket of hauled water next to a pipe that has not worked in years.