A DELEGATION of MPs and peers, including Redditch MP Karen Lumley, will travel to Bosnia to support a local charity, Medica Zenica, to help build and equip a new counselling and information centre.

Medica Zenica provides psycho-social, medical, and informational support to women and children who have been affected by conflict, including sexual violence and war-time rape.

Project Maja is an international social action project is committed to bringing about social responsibility; the belief that by working together people can deliver real and meaningful change. The group will be helping Media Zenica to demonstrate the importance of social action in the community. They will help build and equip a new counselling and information centre. This will include rooms for individual counselling and group therapy sessions, a 24/7 SOS hotline for people to call for support, and a computer suite where people can access further information.

Mrs Lumley chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group for Bosnia and Herzegovina. She has visited the region multiple times, including living in the area for some months before she became an MP. She is committed to supporting women affected by war crimes and in particular sexual violence, and is passionate about the need to wipe out these horrendous crimes.

She said “I am looking forward to spending some of the parliamentary recess doing what I can to help victims of war crimes to rebuild their lives.

"Alongside other MPs who care deeply about this cause, we hope to rebuild a rape crisis centre and develop facilities to help support Medica Zenica in their mission to provide a safe centre for vulnerable and abused women in war zones.

"Having spent much time in Bosnia in the past, this project means a great deal to me, and I am pleased to have the opportunity to give my time and efforts to this extremely vital project.”