Visit to Sapna where we opened the center for early childhood care and development only a month ago

The team arrived from Sapna last evening. The road was more or less ok and accessible.

Road to Sapna damaged by a landslide, viewed from Save the Children's vehicle in motion.

Only a month ago we visited this municipality in Tuzla Municipality to celebrate the opening of the center for early childhood care and development with our colleagues from Save the Children Italy and the Regional Office. We were greeted so warmly during that visit and enjoyed the day seeing how pleased everyone in this community had been with the opportunity to have some form of early childhood care and pre-school program since Sapna is one of four municipalities in Tuzla canton without a public kindergarden/pre-school. Yesterday, the reason of the visit was so much more different and the overall scenery. In April, as we drove towards Sapna, we were all amazed how beautiful the countryside was, with lovely hills and spring blossoming.

The school in Sapna, home to an Early Childhood Care Centre is now converted into shelter for the population affected by floods and landslides.

Now, after the devastating rains, floods and landslide, the countryside that used to look so peaceful, now looks completely different – broken roads, torn slopes of the hillsides, damaged houses. There are over 100 landslides registered in this municipality. Over 60 people had to be evacuated and sheltered temporarily in the branch school Gornja Sapna. For now, they say they have enough food and water but plea with us not to forget them in the following days as they say, this will last. And the houses and crops have been destroyed.