The Big Picture

Remember "HOPE"

The Jericho Foundation's accomplishments and goals can be described in one word: HOPE.

Healthy Initiatives

Medicine and vitamin drives for the orphanage in Zenica, Bosnia.
Providing prosthetic limbs to Bosnians who have lost arms and legs to the landmines still buried throughout the country.

Opportunities and New Experiences

Exchange program where teens from Bosnia experience a trip to the U.S. and West Michigan families experience the joy of serving as hosts.
Cottage industry that provides small but important streams of revenue for Bosnian families. Products are hand-made woven cloths, table runners and other linens.

Personal Relationships

Regular visits to the orphanage in Zenica by Jericho volunteers.
Pen pal program.

Education

War stripped Bosnia of a skilled, educated workforce. Jericho strives to rebuild the lost intellectual capital of Bosnia by providing scholarships to college and four-year high school.

Helping Others

The Jericho Foundation Story

The Jericho Foundation was founded by Joanna Shields of Portage, Michigan, after she visited a Bosnian refugee camp in 1995 during the brutal war there that claimed the lives of as many as 400,000 people in aggressive fighting and ethnic cleansing that pitted Christians against Muslims, neighbor against neighbor, and Serbians, Croatians and Bosnians against each other.

During her short visit, Joanna became close with 9-year-old Melisa, a Bosnian girl, and her family, who had been forced to flee from their home at the height of the war. As Joanna prepared to leave the camp, Melisa simply said, "please don't forget about us." Joanna did not forget her words and finally, after being unable to deny a calling from God to become part of the healing process for many families and children in Bosnia, Joanna began raising money to help them rebuild homes and meet other basic human needs. By 2000 she had created the Jericho Foundation, a private (501(c)3) non-profit corporation.

Today, Jericho raises thousands of dollars each year to bring tangible hope to the oppressed people of Bosnia, particularly children, through health care initiatives, new opportunities and experiences, personal relationships and education. Through these pursuits (and a special focus on Bosnia's youth) Jericho is helping this war-torn country rebuild itself and become a self-sustaining, thriving country once again.

Why do we do this? Love is the answer.

"Jesus answered: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' " Luke 10:27 (NIV)