Bosnia Appeal: Readers give more than pounds 216,000

THE Independent Bosnia Appeal has reached pounds 216,945.35. Money has been sent in by readers to help 15 charitable organisations operating in the region. For every donation to one or more of the charities, the Independent will add 10 per cent, up to pounds 30,000. The appeal ends on 31 January.

The charities are: War Child, which runs a mobile bakery in Bosnia and plans another to help feed starving refugees; the British Red Cross; Care International, whose primary concern is food and shelter for displaced people; Cafod (Catholic Fund for Overseas Development); Christian Aid, which has channelled pounds 100,000 into the World Council of Churches' programme for former Yugoslavia; Edinburgh Direct Aid, which sends food and medical aid to displaced people; Feed the Children, which has delivered more than 3,400 tons of emergency medical and food supplies; Help the Aged, which takes food and medicine to elderly people living in camps and makeshift houses; Islamic Relief; Marie Stopes International; Oxfam; The Refugee Council, which has helped 8,000 Bosnian refugees who fled to the UK; Save the Children, which is distributing food parcels to displaced people; Scottish European Aid, which is working on a programme to provide clean water; and The United Nations Association's Trust Bosnia, founded in July to raise money for the UNHCR's use.

If you would like to support one or more charity please send a separate cheque for each donation, payable to the organisation - with wording as below - and send to: Bosnia Appeal, The Independent, 40 City Road, London EC1Y 2DB. 1 War Child; 2 Victims of War Appeal (former Yugoslavia) - for the Red Cross; 3 Care; 4 Cafod (Bosnia); 5 Christian Aid (Bosnia); 6 Edinburgh Direct Aid; 7 Feed the Children; 8 Help the Aged Former Yugoslavia Appeal; 9 Islamic Relief Bosnia Fund; 10 Marie Stopes International (Bosnia); 11 Oxfam; 12 The Refugee Council; 13 Save the Children Fund; 14 Scottish European Aid; 15 UNA Trust Bosnia.

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