The Sarajevo Winter Market in UNITIC is a yearly food festival and fundraising event arranged by the Helping Hands & Hearts Foundation. Although both NGOs and commercial establishments take part in the event, the bulk of Winter Market funds come from embassy and country donations.
Canada, Denmark, Indonesia, Iran, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Palestine, Philippines, Sweden, Turkey, UK and Norway were among the countries partaking in this year’s winter market, providing the visitors with Canadian Maple Syrup, Turkish baklava, Mexican salsa, British Christmas puddings, Korean beef stew, Vietnamese spring rolls and not the least Norwegian waffles and brown cheese, among other things.
Norway participated in this year’s winter market for the third year in a row, raising more funds than ever.
Last year’s winter market proceeds did among other things support the construction and refurbishing of a Library & Reading Room for the Primary School in Ilidža. The school has 800 multi-ethnic students, and the intention behind the project was to provide an environment that encourages reading, learning and literacy, developing independent lifelong readers.
This year’s proceeds will sustain monthly care packages given to pediatric patients of Jezero Hospital and to the orphanages Dom Bjelave, Obitelj Mostar and Egipat Home. The orphanages will be provided with cradle care and basic food, cloth and hygiene supplies for the children. The aim is also to raise funds for an iStat blood analyzer to help doctors in Jezero Hospital get timely, accurate blood test results in order to be able to treat patients immediately.