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Before & After

Photo: USAID Croatia/Zelimr Kosmna

Before: Members of the Kurjak family returned to their Serbian village when the war ended to find no electricity and their home in need of repair. The power network and transformers in the village were damaged and not operational. Lack of electricity not only caused hardship but prevented the youngest of the Kurjaks - the great grandson - from joining the family.

Photo: USAID/Anne Marie DiNardo

When I returned, I did not believe that the new home was going to be built. But USAID helped resolve this for us."
- Dragan Kurjak

The life for people in the village of Branesci in Croatia is returning to normal as electricity is finally restored with the help of USAID's Community Infrastructure Rehabilitation Program. For approximately ten years, the village had no electricity due to damage suffered from the 1990's war. Next to housing reconstruction, electricity is the most important precondition for people to return to their pre-war homes.

USAID worked with HEP, the Croatian electric company, to restore electricity to the area. Nearly three years after their return, four generations of Kurjaks can now use appliances in their multi-family units. Soon, the newborn great-grandson will come to Branesci to meet his relatives for the first time in their new homes. Relectrification not only eases the life of residents living in these villages, it also will help foster the return of 500 other displaced persons reluctant to return home.

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