At the city hall in Srebrenica a handover ceremony was held to present the results of the first phase of this larger project. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has provided financial support to the project, and representatives from the Embassy were invited to the ceremony which also included a fieldtrip to two households which had benefited from the project.
The ceremony included representatives from the local government, the Ministry of Human Rights and Returnees, the electrical companies involved, UNDP, as well as Ambassador Jan Braathu and Chargè d’ Affaires Christina Øvestad Eikeland. In addition to the households directly benefitting from the project, neighbors had also reported their interest in taking part in the project, making the estimated number of beneficiaries reach 300 households.
One of the households the delegation visited housed a family relying on berry-production for a living. With electricity in the house the family was now able to store the berries for a longer period of time, making the business more sustainable. During the visit Ambassador Braathu emphasized the humanitarian part of the project as particularly important: “This is a project which directly benefits people, and has a crucial impact on people’s everyday life and livelihood. I am truly happy for the families who now have electricity, and I hope that it will help others return as well. The success of the project might be attributed to the good cooperation, planning and managing from all involved parties, and hopefully it will serve as a model for similar cooperation in the future. ”