Welcome to Balkan Aid Relief Foundation. Founded in 1998, BARF is a group of volunteer Land Rover enthusiasts, supplying aid and equipment to the children and people of war torn Bosnia Herzegovina.

                                                        LATEST NEWS

17th August 2010

Some time ago we were contacted by Naomi Sanderson, Extended School Leader at Glossopdale Community College in Hadfield, Derbyshire. The College was changing their uniforms - would BARF be interested. Yes indeed! Today, I set off from Liphook at 4am with a Box Trailer borrowed from our good friends - Universal Trailers in West Sussex to collect the donation. I arrived in poiuring rain at the College at 9.30 am. I was delighted to see that there was a whole room of bags of redundant uniforms - enough to completely fill the trailer. Naomi and her colleagues helped to carry the bags from the College to the trailer. I set off for home around 10.30 am in thick mist and fog and had a very interesting drive through the Peak District although I could not see much as I was concentrating on not going over the edge into a steep dive into water. I arrived back in Liphook at around 5 pm after an exhausting 500 mile round trip. Our very special thanks to the College and all those involved in collecting the old uniforms. They will be very well received by many village schools in rural Bosnia in October. We shall endeavour to get some photographs to pass back to Glossopdale College.

                       Carrying 2 of 100 bags to the trailer                                        Naomi and colleagues helped to fill the trailer

               

5th August 2010

          Now that we have decided to close BARF after our final convoy which will take place in October 2010, I thought it might be of interest to read my diary for the very first BARF convoy which took place in November / December 1998. It was a very difficult journey, fraught with problems and extremely frustrating but, nonetheless it was a great achievement. We have since completed no less than 28 convoys in the last 12 years and we believe it has all been worthwhile. Our grateful thanks to all the many volunteers who have participated in these convoys over the years. To see the names of those who have joined us over the years click here

To read the story of our very first convoy  click here

 16th July 2010

            The Trustees held a meeting at Billing on 16th July 2010. After much debate, it was approved that after 12 years and 28 convoys, we have achieved much of what we had set out to do in 1998.  It was approved that BARF should be wound down by the end of 2010. It was agreed to organise one final convoy which will depart from the UK on Thursday 21st October 2010. This will be quite an emotional experience as we will be saying goodbye to our wonderful partners in Banja Luka, Genesis Project with whom we have worked for the last 10 years. Without the co-operation, advise and assistance from Genesis, we could not have achieved all that we did.          

         1st June 2010

           Stuart Lindley has offered his resignation as a Trustee of BARF and this has been accepted. We would like to express our thanks to Stuart for his involvement with BARF over the last 12 years.

20th January 2010

           We have just received a substantial donation of £1,430 from Maureen and Katy Nicholls. This was raised by MKN Productions putting on a Variety Show at the Royal Oak in Little Cawthorpe, Lincolnshire. Maureen has been running such fund raising events for many years with a different beneficiary each year. Katy joined us on a BARF convoy in October 2007. We are very grateful for such support and the money will be a great help towards the funding for our next convoy due to leave the UK on 18th February 2010.

Katy Nicholls, BARF Trustee Stuart Lindley and Maureen Nicholls

The cast of MKN Productions Variety Show at The Royal Oak

 

15th December 2009

          The convoy is back and delivered a substantial amount of clothing, computers and electric buggies for disabled people. The aid was distributed to the following institutions in Bosnia:-

1.            Association of families with four and more children – municipality Laktaši

2.       Association of families with four and more children – municipality Banjaluka

3.       Association of families with four and more children – municipality Prijedor

4.       Association of families with four and more children – municipality Šipovo

5.       NGO “United women” – project “Safe house” for women and children victims of domestic violence, Banjaluka

6.       Association of paraplegics, people with child paralysis and other body invalids in wider Banjaluka region

7.       Women’s association “Duga” (Rainbow)”, Banjaluka

8.       NGO “Merhamet” – Muslim Islamic humanitarian association

9.       NGO “KSS” – Serbian Orthodox humanitarian association

10.      Hospital “Dr Miroslav Zotovic” - Banja Luka

          To read the detailed report of the distribution from our local partners, Genesis Project, click here 

30th October 2009

          The convoy met up in the Dover Freight Yard to await the time consuming Customs Clearance. There was some last minute preparations as David MacPheat had to fit a roof tent which was delivered by John Torring as there was no time for it to be shipped to Preston.

David MacPheat's roof tent being installed	John Torring in his new Discovery
Keith Hutt in one his many Land Rovers	Colin May in his Discovery 3
Rob Hammond / Ian Hunt and John Torring	Rob Hammond's Trailer with Ian and John in the background

 20th October 2009
           We have had a last minute volunteer driver with a Defender 90 and also a very keen passenger whom we have teamed up so we now have no less than 7 vehicles raring to go on Friday 30th October. We have 4 Discovery's, 2 Defender 110s and a Defender 90 all towing a trailer packed with a variety of much needed aid.

14th October 2009
          We have just received a wonderful email from a school in Bosnia Herzegovina to whom we donated a quantity of redundant school sportswear in February 2009. Read the report by clicking here.

  6th October 2009

   After some apprehension, we are pleased to confirm that we have our preferred number of 6 vehicles ready to go on our 27th convoy to Bosnia. There are 4 regulars plus two newcomers. We will keep you informed as to their progress. We shall be delivering a substantial number of computers plus the usual large quantities of school uniforms and adult's and children's clothing.
    We would hope to arrange our next convoy to leave the UK sometime in February 2010. If you would like a great adventure and have the satisfaction of helping others click here I WANT TO COME TOO 

    We have had more donations of redundant school clothing; our long time supporters at Hurstpierpoint College gave sufficient to fill to the brim my Discovery 3 as did the Wykeham House School in Fareham, Hants.  If you know of any schools changing their uniforms, please let us know. There is an insatiable demand from the children in rural schools in Bosnia for any kind of uniform and sports wear.

  9th June 2009
   Epsom College has donated another substantial quantity of redundant school uniforms which will go to Bosnia in our October convoy.

	Mike Coleman and Caroline Daniels helping to load the school uniforms		Neil Newitt and Caroline Daniels at Epsom College shop cramming the boxes into the BARF Land Rover

       To see a detailed report prepared by Genesis Project of what aid was delivered and to whom on the February 2009 convoy please click here.  An excellent pictorial report of the February 2009 convoy has been published by Nick Johnson 41, Mareham Le Fen, Lincolnshire, professional photographer, who was on his third convoy with BARF. To view this report click here. To see a report from Genesis Project of the distribution of last year's donation of school uniforms click here.

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 Here is a picture of aid being unloaded in Banja Luka from a Box Trailer kindly lent to us by Barlow Trailers, Ulnes Walton, Lancashire.  We have had a lot of support from Barlows over the years and we are very grateful for their continued willingness to help us out with trailers, without which we could not deliver the much needed aid.
   
      http://www.barlow-trailers.co.uk

 

 

 

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Our next convoy is scheduled take place in October 2010. We have already have a number of declarations of interest but if you would like to experience an amazing and worthwhile adventure please contact our Chairman, Neil Newitt, to get full details.    

   We have learnt that the optimum number of vehicles is 6 and we will limit future convoys to this number. We already have some interest in our next convoy but if there are others who want to volunteer their vehicle and services for future convoys, please contact us on I WANT TO COME TOO

    We can always use more volunteers - all you need is a good, strong 4 x 4 and the knowledge and qualification to tow a 3.5 ton trailer. Why not ask for a Convoy Information Pack which will answer most of your questions and give you details of what it entails joining one of our aid convoys.

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   Our 23rd convoy since we began in 1997, consisted of 6 Land Rovers (4 Discovery's, a 110 plus a monster 130" - our first, arrived safely in Banja Luka on 5th February 2008 exactly on schedule. The convoy has now returned safely after another successful aid distribution. We are awaiting for the report and photographs which will be published when available. One participant, John Torring has written a report on this trip. If you would like to read it click here

   Trustee Rob Hammond and volunteer Alex Tompsett set off on Friday 23rd May in a two vehicle "mini-convoy" to Banja Luka. This will be the 24th convoy undertaken by BARF. Rob and Alex will be delivering over 23,000 of the disposable nappies donated to BARF by Kimberly-Clark. The nappies will be delivered to four Families Associations in and around Banja Luka for use by disadvantaged families who would normally find them too expensive to purchase locally.   

    The 25th convoy consisting of 4 Discoverys and a 110 left on 9th October 2008, and not without a few problems, managed to deliver 70,000 disposable nappies, plus a substantial amount of new school clothing, toys, invalid buggies, wheelchairs and some specialised computer equipment for the disabled children at the Dr Miroslav Zotovic school. We are awaiting a detailed report with photographs of this convoy which we shall publish in due course. To see the report on the distribution of the aid taken by this convoy look at our News page

     Convoy Leader, Rob Hammond has written a report on this trip, which was not without incident as you will see if you read it. To do so click here.

     Our 26th convoy consisting of 3 Discoverys and 2 110's left the UK on 19th February 2009. Among the aid carried were 50 computers donated to us by an International Bank. After consultation with our partners in Bosnia, Genesis Project, we decided that these computers should be donated to 12 schools in the Bosnian Federation. We also funded the local purchase of specialist software in Croat and Serb language. This Project, known as "Divided Schools" is aimed at bringing together Croat and Bosniak children and teachers.  Bosnia Herzegovina is characterized by the phenomenon of divided schools, most visibly symbolized by the “two-schools under one roof” structure where children are segregated based on their ethnicity or nationality in mixed cantons and areas of Bosnia. This unique form of apartheid, as it is often called, emerges from national distrust and fear fuelled by irresponsible nationalist politics. The divided schools represent the most explicit form of the divisions within the BiH education system. This project is being run by Genesis Project under the auspices of UNICEF. We are delighted to be part of this inspired project. We have just received a letter of thanks from the Ministry of Education of The Bosnian Federation. To read this letter please click here.

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   The minibus was very kindly donated to BARF by Ruth and Steven Howat and has now been delivered to an Humanitarian Organisation U D A S in Banja Luka which caters for disabled people. UDAS is absolutely thrilled with their new acquisition and it will be a great asset to them. This is the first time we have imported a vehicle to Bosnia, an interesting experience! The minibus has been a great success and is being used by a number of other organisations in the transportation of disabled people around Banja Luka. The minibus is greatly appreciated by UDAS and is in constant use and is even displayed on their website. click here to see.

 

 

 

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

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  Working with our local partners in Bosnia, GENESIS PROJECT,  we are able to ensure that all AID only goes to those people who need it. We have just received a comprehensive report from Genesis detailing the distribution of the disposable nappies donated by Kimberly-Clark.  click here to read the report.

Can you help - we need financial support 

go to the News page for more details as to how you can support BARF

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To learn about what we are doing and what we have done over the last few years - have a look at our Annual Reports

To see our Annual report for year ending December 2004 click here.

To see our Annual Report for year ending December 2005 click here.

To see our Annual Report for year ending December 2006 click here.

To see our Annual Report for year ending December 2007 click here.

To see our Annual Report for year ending December 2008 click here

To see our Annual Report for year ending December 2009 click here

 

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Exciting News

BARF has been given a significant donation of almost 200,000 nappies  by Kimberly-Clark for onward transmission to Bosnia Herzegovina. The donation was very kindly transported from Barton in Humber to our warehouse in Boston, Lincolnshire by Benton Brothers, Boston. Our grateful thanks to both of these wonderful supporters of B A R F.

click here to read the Kimberly-Clark press release

 Our website is now being updated regularly so please keep coming back to see how we are doing. Notwithstanding that BARF is entirely run by volunteers you will see how a small number of people can provide a large amount of help and assistance.

  BARF was founded in May 1998 and is a small British registered charitable aid agency, run by a group of Land Rover enthusiasts, supplying aid and equipment to schools, humanitarian institutions such as the Paraplegic Association, orphanages and other children's organisations' in the war torn country of Bosnia Herzegovina.