Blue Van: A vehicle eagerly awaited by starving people

The volunteer society from Zenica, "Plavi kombi" (Blue Van), is providing assistance to endangered residents in flooded areas by procuring and delivering food and other essential supplies to the most remote locations. Many residents of Kolići, Željezno Polje, Šerići, and Maglaj eagerly awaited them, writes the BH news agency Patria.

Their specific approach is to drive the blue van as far as the road allows, and then proceed on foot to inaccessible areas. Alem Isaković, coordinator and founder of the volunteer society "Plavi kombi," told NAP that the teams work on the ground 24 hours a day and that it is not a problem for them to walk, because hungry and distressed people are waiting for them somewhere.

Isaković is a former handball player for Čelik, but he terminated his contract just before the floods, and the entire amount of that money has been spent so far on helping those in need.

- What we have all invested together is very little. We are not a formal group; we gathered spontaneously, and since our friend, who owns the van, truly values his vehicle and our society, or rather our crew, we named ourselves Plavi kombi - says Isaković.

On their Facebook page, it is stated that they walked through a moving landslide, through a minefield, through a swollen river, and covered hundreds of kilometers on foot, carrying backpacks with food and medicine; nothing was difficult for them.

- We went through all that, but the procedure of the competent authorities seems to be a task we will not pass. We were told that we are currently powerless because we have not been processed legally by the administration, so we cannot receive funds from institutions, and we no longer have our own. There are many people waiting for our help - Isaković added.

The team walked to endangered areas

He noted that the scenes of hungry people, devastated by the natural disaster, are truly horrific on the ground.

- That's why we don't regret a single step or a single mark spent. When a person gives you a smile, and you know that all their dreams have been shattered - adds Isaković.