TV PICTURES of wartorn Bosnia may no longer be part of our everyday lives, but the aftermath of the fighting is still evident — bombed out buildings and people living in extreme poverty is sadly the reality today, nearly ten years after the war ended.
Trevor Paddon-Hall from Bere Alston has just returned from his ninth trip to Bosnia, where he has been delivering aid to refugee families. For the former ambulance officer who first responded to a plea for help in 1990, these mercy missions have become a huge part of his life.
And when he is not travelling, Trevor is giving talks to raise awareness of the desperate situation which still exists in Bosnia.
The reason many families have survived from day to day is down to people like Trevor and the generosity of the people of the West Devon area.
In just one month prior to the latest aid trip, donations amounted to £2,500 in cash, 160 sleeping bags, a complete stock of duvets from Fairway Furniture and three tonnes of food, hygiene and medical supplies.
Trevor said the support had been fantastic: 'We now try to get out to Bosnia four times a year and all the aid is from this area. We did not expect such a huge response but it has been absolutely superb.'
He said one of the loveliest things to happen was getting text messages from the children of Bere Alston Primary School while he was in Bosnia.
The children had put together a collection of hygiene items to take out.
'They would text to say they were thinking of us and even though we were 2,600 miles away we felt like we were close to home,' he said.
Trevor's first journey to Bosnia was in response to an appeal by an organisation called the International Police Task Force. The man lined up to drive the aid lorry was sick and so he stepped in.
Despite the problems which affected the first trip, including horrendous hold-ups at Customs and with the local police, who had not be paid for four months and wanted bribes to co-operate, Trevor's experience was so overwhelming he felt he had to return.
'There was such a tremendous amount of devastation and even though the war ended in 1995, that devastation remains today,' he said.
'Most buildings have been bombed or stripped of equipment and goods and taken into Serbia.
'We visited families who lived in camps which amount to rubbish tips. They are mostly from Macedonia, Kosovo, Romania and Bulgaria and have ended up in Bosnia because of the war.
'They live side by side as friends with people who were once seen as the enemy, yet the politicians of the country cannot accept this and refuse to give them an identity.'
The trip in November saw the Bere Alston resident and his fellow aid workers travelling to camps in Bosnia and Hercergovina where women and children are surviving on the aid brought in from other countries.
'Most of the men have been killed and the people who have been left will not be acknowledged by the authorities,' he added. 'They have no documentation and will not be given birth certificates or passports and so effectively they do not exist.'
Mr Paddon-Hall said the people were 'lovely' and were so very grateful for what he and his colleagues were doing.
He said the deliveries of food lasted for three months and the sleeping bags were essential through the cold winters — without this aid, they would almost certainly perish.
'We have been made so welcome, especially by the children, but what the country really needs is help and direction so people can help themselves — machinery to farm the land, skilled people to make furniture from the beautiful wood in Bosnia, medical supplies and expertise to keep the hospitals going and organisations to get things moving.
'As a country we are very good at liberating people, but not so good about following it through,' he said.
'These people need practical help.'
He said he felt an obligation to help these people — 'after all we are partly responsible,' he said.
'I would like to spend a year out in Bosnia, because you need to be there continuously to make any kind of a real difference.'
As well as pasta, rice and dried foods, Trevor is always looking for shoes, medical dressings and equipment.
The country is also desperate for x-ray machines, hospital beds, hoists and wheelchairs.
The next trip leaves from Bere Alston in February, when a dentist will form part of the aid team.
The intention is to train somebody to look after the children's teeth on the camps, because there is no dental facility in Bosnia at the moment.
Trevor Paddon-Hall can be contacted on 01822 840091 if anyone wants to give aid or is interested in a talk.