Update - February/March 1996

Beginning in late November 1995, Olovo School Meals has been a resounding success. Olovo, a feeding program funded by the Help album, is based in fourteen schools and provides one highly nutritious meal a day to over 2500 school children.

Olovo, an area situated within a valley with only one access road, was not on the UN's northern supply route. Consequently conditions in the area are dire and communications very poor. Temperatures in January dropped as low as -15C.

Using the school kitchens for the reheating and distribution of the meals, TSRT has successfully involved all sections of the community in this project. School authorities, local municipalities and parent councils were all involved in the planning and initiation of the feeding programme. All food is sourced and prepared in Olovo. Local trade has been utilised where appropriate: Olovo Bakery provides all the bread required by the project, local builders and carpenters were involved in the renovation of the kitchens and repair of basic sanitation. The project has also given full time employment to ten local people.

Before TSRT's involvement in Olovo little foreign aid was directed at this area of Northern Bosnia. The success of the Olovo project has proven to other NGO's that it is possible to work in this previously overlooked and remote area of Northern Bosnia. In fact since December both UMCOR and IRC have travelled to Olovo to evaluate the possibility of working in the area either independently or in conjunction with TSRT.

The Olovo programme was originally due to finish at the end of March, when it was hoped the local authorities could take over the management of the programme. However, in an effort to ensure local authorities have enough time to resolve certain difficulties that would only hinder the efficient management of the feeding programme, it is now possible that the project may be extended until the 7th June. For example there is no regular means of transport for children to travel to school (some kids walk 10km to and from school everyday), substantial rebuilding of some school buildings and homes must be completed, water supplies and basic sanitation must be repaired. TSRT is currently examining the possibility of assisting the local municipality in resolving some of these problems.

TSRT's support of BoHeMSA, the Bosnian and Hercegovinian Medical Students' Association, led to the staging in January of a multi-media exhibition in the students club Kuk, entitled 'AIDS Prevention Days'. The exhibition provided students and young people with information about HIV and AIDS in a way which celebrated the struggle to survive and encouraged thought and planning for a future. The club looked magnificent, with posters from AIDS organisations in UK, USA, France and Holland, a huge video projection screen showing non-stop film and music videos: Rock Hudson, Freddie Mercury, Red Hot and Blue, etc. The gallery of the club housed two computers, one with an animated interactive Risk Advisor programme, the other with the Internet exhibition Art Aids, specially prepared on CDRom for the event by the ArtAids team. The gallery housed prints and slides from the exhibition, and workshops with young students from Soros Media Centre produced new work for ArtAIDS which has been brought to London for uploading onto the net. Many professors and health care professionals attended the event which had a very high media profile in the city, putting AIDS firmly on the agenda. The highlight of the week was a totally packed concert by three of Sarajevo's finest bands: Protest, Tmina, and CIA which was filmed and shown on two TV channels. Throughout the week thousands of condoms and leaflets were distributed, and lectures were given to school and student groups. TSRT received financial support from The Elton John AIDS Foundation and the Refugee Council, plus practical help from Edinburgh Direct Aid for their work on this event.

Kuk is also part of the music therapy programme designed by Professor Nigel Osborne of Edinburgh University which TSRT has been developing. The next phase of it's implementation begins in March, when TSRT provide a full time coordinator in Sarajevo to facilitate the training sessions by visiting therapists of local staff, and to oversee the refurbishment of the buildings. Claire Smith of the Drake Project - pioneers in the use of MIDIGRID and Soundbeam Technology for music therapy - and Professor Nigel Osborne will run week long training sessions from 23rd March. As with the very best model for music therapy, the clinical application of technical therapy will be at the centre of a community music and arts resource. Kuk Club, being a music venue/gallery in a university medical faculty, is the perfect environment for such work. the Kuk Project will be TSRT's major commitment for Sarajevo in 1996.

Simon Smoleskis (Simon the Clown), TSRT's circus worker in Sarajevo, is running the teacher training programme at Sarajevo Circus School. TSRT played a major role in establishing the school, which is run by the French NGO Equilibre. Simon also performs regularly for children's organisations and at centres throughout the city, and recently spent a few days in Gorazde. Arriving unannounced, he walked through the city as a pied piper, collecting an entourage of 500 children, and led them into the theatre where he performed a marathon show for over two hours. "I didn't know I had that much material" said a tired clown afterwards. Neither did we.

Simon has also been working regularly with the members of Bubamara Children's Football Club, who have expanded their membership to 350 boys. Their league of twenty clubs has now been equipped with team shirts and track suits. TSRT and EDA recently delivered training videos from the FA, plus football equipment from British Soccer (USA). Bubamara are now planning a youth tournament in Sarajevo, and several UK clubs are interested. We were able to deliver some relevant equipment for these sports too. In fact, such has been the response to our sports appeal that TSRT are looking into developing a project with Betaclub to take visiting sports coaches to rural schools.

The True Colours team have now returned to Britain after a successful three months in Bosnia.

True Colours a mobile creative arts project visited schools,orphanages and youth centres, painting murals and providing art classes. The intention being to address several key objectives: the fostering of self respect and personal accomplishment, reconfirming the child's right to play and creative expression, developing artistic talents and encouraging cooperation between different ethnic and cultural groups.

Arriving in Bosnia in October True Colours worked with Professor Nigel Osborne, of Edinburgh University, on a series of workshops at the Special School in Mostar. Incorporating Nigel's music therapy programme and the visual work of True Colours, the workshops, which involved pupils and staff, culminated in a fantastic performance piece. Everyone agreed the programme was an outstanding success.

After the Mostar programme True Colours worked at a youth house and refugee centre in Travnik, providing workshops and mural painting. True Colours then travelled on to Sarajevo where they worked at a youth house, a war wound hospital and arts festival, providing face painting, art workshops and mural painting facilities. January saw the True Colours team in Olovo. Visiting four of the schools involved in TSRT's School Meals project, where True Colours provided a programme that began with a performance, incorporating music and circus skills, before leading on to art workshops.

It is hoped this colourful and much loved project will return to Bosnia in the summer.

The Dobro Kadabra Tour (Bosnia)

TDKT, a circus style tour of orphanages, refugee centres and schools will be leaving Britain at the end of march for a six week tour of Bosnia. With the tentatively improving military and political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina we have access to areas that, previously, our clowning projects could not reach. We intend to tour these areas now.

Consisting of experienced TSRT performers. TDKT will visit orphanages, schools, hospitals and refugee centres throughout Bosnia. The one hour show will include clowning, magic, juggling, music, puppetry all centred around audience participation.

The tour welcomes the return of Johnie K and Caroline Moore (Ireland) who are largely responsible for sparking off our reputation for Clowning in Bosnia.

Olovo Photo Essay

Martin Kennedy, TSRT documenter, will return to Bosnia to continue his photographic work, culminating in a collective TSRT photo exhibition to be held in London in May.

Romania '96

Our project in Romania last year (Mania 4 Romania) emphasised the value of, and the need for, the creative arts when working with children with special needs. This year sees our return, providing necessary follow-up training in two areas.

In the Botosani region, Jutta Feuerstein, a trained special needs therapist, will return in April to provide training workshops for staff at Ionaseni Orphanage in the use of sensory stimulation for disabled children. She will also return with more equipment for the stimulation room set up last summer and investigate sourcing materials on location.

In Bucharest, Richard Proctor will return to provide circus training for the children and staff of the local organisation "Parada" which promotes the social integration of street children through artistic and cultural activities.

After a one month fact finding mission to Albania, Christophe and Snezjana have returned to France. The fact finding mission identified twenty nine schools throughout Albania that SRT could work with. This project will provide two areas of relief: material aid, providing pupils with basic writing equipment and stationery, teachers with textbooks and blackboards etc; and work of a therapeutic nature, the provision of music classes, sporting activities and circus skills by SRT staff.

The Albania project is currently under assessment. Fundraising will begin towards the end of February, with the project itself commencing in May.

In recent weeks, five of our trucks have undergone major repairs which were necessary after many months of delivering rebuilding materials (in co-operation with THW) in Mostar.

Our Zenica workshop, manned by our four mechanic/drivers,not only provides logistical support to TSRT projects, but plans to give mechanical assistance to other agencies, such as UNICEF.

The Serious Road Trip is a voluntary humanitarian organization committed primarily to helping children in regions affected by war, poverty or natural disasters. The Serious Road Trip endeavours to meet both the material and psycho-social needs of target groups, and to raise awareness of their plight in the hope of encouraging others to take similar action.

For more information, contact:

The Serious Road Trip
61, Bayham Place
Camden, London NW1 0ET
United Kingdom
Tel: +44-71-916-9333
Fax: +44-71-916-9335
Mail: srt@roadtrip.demon.co.uk