This lovely Nursing Home stands in the grounds of Vionica Orphanage, a few kilometres from Medjugorje. Over 30 elderly residents live at the Home where they are well fed and cared for with love and respect. When Irish or UK pilgrims visit the Home, they are warmly welcomed as the residents know that we support them. A loving hug is a comfort to these people who have lost so much. One old lady, through an interpreter said: “Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Without you we would not be alive. I was not always like this; I used to have a home and family”. The sad reality is that the cruel war of ‘92 – ‘95 destroyed families and communities. Almost a whole generation was wiped out leaving the older generation without support.

The original concept behind the Grandparents Home was to bring the grandparents close to the children in the orphanage. Sadly, those 25 families had lost all their parents during the dark days of the Yugoslav wars. Not one mother or father survived the atrocities. Many of the grandparents are still alive and are so happy to be living in clean, comfortable surroundings. Some of the residents had lived for years in a nearby refugee camp where they had to queue for food, water and toilet facilities. The Grandparents Home is a haven and a Heaven for these sad, lonely people.