'Everyone we met had lost someone'.

Byline: Lisa Jones

A BUSINESSWOMAN who persuaded companies across South Wales to help Bosnian orphans has spoken of her joy at being able to offer her support.

Shazia Awan, from Penylan, Cardiff, was the only candidate from Wales selected to go to Srebrenica as part of a team of 20 aspiring politicians from across the country who took part in the Conservative Party's social action project, Project Maja.

The group helped refurbish a classroom, create a playground area for Srebrenica's kindergarten and refurbish and provide new computers for the high school's IT room, which was later opened by shadow foreign secretary William Hague.

Shazia, who runs her own clothing company, also persuaded Cardiff businesses to donate toys, books, stationery and children's clothing for a local nursery and a school for children with special needs.

The team also helped to construct a football pitch and build a house with funds donated by the Conservative Party to the Bosnian Fund for Refugees.

Shazia said: "I didn't know what to expect when I went there. It was two plane rides and a four-hour drive. I wasn't ready for what I saw. It's made me a better person.

"It's a region that still needs a lot of help. You can still see buildings which have been shelled. The scars of the war are everywhere. Only 10 metres from the school are buildings which have been blown to bits. The children go to school every day and have to see this. I spent two hours in a special school. They haven't had running water for three years."

In July 1995 the town became the scene of the worst massacre in the Bosnian war, when Bosnian Serb forces killed more than 7,000 men and boys. The scars of the war live on in the people, who are still trying to bury their loved ones, 14 years after the massacre.

Shazia added: "Every person we met in Srebrenica lost somebody. The woman who I lodged with lost her husband and her son-in-law. There are people still looking for the bodies of their loved ones.

"I will never forget Deena, a lady who was searching for the remains of her husband. Nearly 15 years on she had just pieced together 70% of his remains. This means that a body can be buried, but she was forced to bury him without a head.

"It was very emotional and draining at times but I am so grateful to the families who welcomed us into their homes and shared their stories."

CAPTION(S):

William Hague and Shazia Awan with some of the toys donated by local stores