Islamic Relief provides small business loans to people too poor to qualify for bank loans. The small business established through these loans help create income and employment opportunities.

Islamic Relief also provides low cost loans for the repair of war-damaged homes.

It is hoped that this will improve the economic, social, and political welfare of borrowers, their families and the local community.

Since the start of the project approximately 22,000 people have benefited from the loans. There are currently 1,553 active loans benefiting 7,236 people. Approximately 80 % of microcredit beneficiaries live in rural areas.

More than 250,000 people were killed during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A further 1.2 million were internally displaced and some 800,000 were forced to flee the country.

Bosnia suffered extensive destruction to housing and severe damage to infrastructure in addition to widespread incidence of murder and rape of civilians.

Over 40% of the housing stock was damaged or destroyed, and the homes left behind by displaced people were often occupied by others.

Islamic Relief began providing emergency relief in 1992, and long-term reconstruction and income and employment generation programmes began in 1995 when open hostilities ceased.

The microcredit programme has been running since April 2001, and since then almost 4,500 business and housing loans have been given out. Business loans help create income and employment opportunities. The majority of business loans borrowers are returnees to pre-war homes.

Housing loans are given for the repair and reconstruction of war damaged houses. Over two-thirds of housing loan borrowers are female-headed households.

Participants in both programmes are from vulnerable categories of the population and are generally not able to access loans from banks and other financial intermediaries.

The programme has maintained an exceptionally high repayment rate of 99% which has enabled it to expand and fund continuing loans.

Project Objectives

• To generate income and employment opportunities by the provision of microcredit loans for small businesses;
• To help the poor build and repair war-damaged houses by providing low cost housing loans.

Project Activities

• Dispensing loans for small businesses to people who do not qualify for bank loans
• Dispensing loans to build and repair war-damaged houses

"Islamic Relief is striving for a fairer world. Our mission is to help the poor and needy to live sustainable, self-reliant lives within safe and caring communities. Our work is guided and shaped by the core values of accountability, humanitarianism, neutrality and impartiality, inclusiveness, integrity and co-operation, all of which are also integral to the Islamic faith."
Dr Hany El Banna - Founder of Islamic Relief

Islamic Relief was established in 1984 and our unique approach is the result of these many years of hands-on experience.

1. Where possible we adopt a community partnership-based approach; encouraging community involvement, understanding and ownership of projects.
2. We run the majority of our field projects ourselves, giving us direct insight into the problems faced and how best to solve them.
3. We aim to empower those we help in order to achieve sustainable results.
4. Though our emergency response teams are quick to respond to emergencies around the world, we continue to support communities long after the initial media interest has died down.
5. We recruit staff locally to benefit from their local knowledge. This ensures that we are culturally sensitive and allows us to reach communities and areas other organisations cannot.
6. Where necessary we coordinate our work with other reputable aid agencies, local organisations and governments.

Millennium Development Goals

Islamic Relief is committed to the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which have been agreed by the world’s leading development institutions in an effort to meet the needs of the world’s poorest by the year 2015. 

The goals:

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development

For more information about the MDGs, please visit: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/