Charity centre's financial fears

Christine Witcutt travelled to Bosnia to work for Direct Aid

An Edinburgh-based charity which helps children with special needs in Bosnia has encountered funding problems.

The Witcutt Centre opened in Sarajevo in 2001 in memory of Christine Witcutt, an aid worker from Wishaw who died in 1993 during the civil war there.

The charity, Edinburgh Direct Aid, came to prominence in the early 1990s when it ran supply convoys to Sarajevo.

But the charity now needs to find an extra £200,000 to keep the centre going.

The £350,000 cost of funding the centre to date has been met by Direct Aid.

It has secured an agreement with the Sarajevo authorities for them to take over the running of the centre by the end of 2006, but until then the charity is having to find the money.

We've had some very bad news, some major grant funding didn't come through and a few major events didn't come off Denis Rutovitz Edinburgh Direct Aid

Denis Rutovitz, chairman of the organisation, said: "It marks a breakthrough in policy for all of Bosnia that they will have responsibility for such children, they do need schooling, they do need this centre and that is terribly important.

"We are simply running out of cash. The public is immensely generous and has supported this for three years, but if you are depending on incoming donations then disaster is only a certain distance away all the time - it just depends how far away it is.

"Last winter we could not see where our last six months were coming from. The Edinburgh Evening News came to our rescue with a successful campaign.

"But we had some very bad news a few weeks ago, some major grant funding didn't come through and a few major events didn't come off."

However, the Christadelphian church, of which Christine Witcutt was a member, has donated £30,000 and various donations from the public have produced a further £10,000.

'Living tribute'

Mr Rutovitz said that that money would help the centre to survive for a further six months but the future beyond that was uncertain.

Mrs Witcutt, 52, was one of many volunteers drafted in by the charity at the height of the Bosnian conflict.

Eleven years ago the retired schoolteacher was travelling in a lorry on a notorious Sarajevo road called "Snipers' Alley" when she was killed.

Although the aid truck had "Don't Shoot" emblazoned on it, gunmen fired and Mrs Witcutt was struck by a bullet which pierced the cab. She died instantly.

Described as "a living tribute" to her sacrifice, the unit for children with severe disabilities was set up in a special needs school.

The day-care centre allows seriously physically or mentally disadvantaged children to continue living at home with their families.

It focuses on professional care, physiotherapy, speech therapy, prosthesis and general health monitoring.

Edinburgh Direct Aid has had a long-term commitment in Bosnia.

During the height of the conflict, volunteers took food and medical aid directly to the teachers, doctors and nurses in the city.

Anyone wishing to help the charity can call 0131 552 1545.