History of Beyond Tears Worldwide
 

Beyond Tears was established because caring people were deeply moved by the tragedy experienced by the thousands of war victims ravaged by the terrors of the Bosnian conflict.

In 1991, Lou Felo (vice president of Beyond Tears Worldwide (BTW)) was part of the administrative team of the Black Forest Academy, Kandern, Germany. He was invited by the United Nations High Commission for Refuges (UNHCR) to work in Bosnia as a result of his successful effort in mobilizing numerous teams to rebuild an orphanage and destroyed homes in Lipik, Croatia. He traveled in and out of Bosnia during the entire conflict bringing thousands of pairs of new shoes, clothing and food to refugee camps in Zencia, Mostar, Tuzla and the war-ravaged capitol city of Sarajevo. Often at risk of his own life, he began to mobilize others to bring help to the hurting peoples of the the former Yugoslavian republic; especially ethic Muslims. After the war, teams began to focus on rebuilding Gorazde, Bosnia. During a special project in the winter of 1996, the team helped families survive the freezing winter temperatures by winterizing one room in their bombed out homes, supplying wood for heat, and by distribution of socks, shoes and clothing. That year, hundreds survived the winter and as a result this humanitarian outreach established a long term relationship with the areas displaced peoples (DPs) and the local government officials of the Gorazde region.

In 2002, Rob Muir, George Selix, Jay Comfort and others joined with Lou Felo in a vision to develop a Christian humanitarian organization that would be based on Christian principles especially on God 's commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself”. In 2002, Beyond Tears Worldwide was registered in the state of New Jersey, as a non-governmental organization and as a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in the United States.

BTW has been working in Bosnia since 2002.   KLAS and LAS have been doing humanitarian projects into Gorazde, Bosnia since 1998.

During its short history, Beyond Tears has mobilized hundreds of students “to serve and stand with hurting people” not only in Bosnia.

In 2003, BTW began a new humanitarian work in Afghanistan which included clothing, new shoes and family-care products distribution to the most needy in the Mazar-i-Sharif region. They also constructed a literacy school for women and paid teacher and staff salaries to educate just some of the millions of Afghan women who cannot read or write their own language. In 2004, BTW began to offer assistance to the Helping Hands Orphanage in downtown Mazar which involved supplying the center with school materials, new shoes for the children, repair and renovation of the of the dilapidated facilities, and provision of heaters for the orphanage for the brutal winters.

BTW is in the process of raising funds to build a new school in the Mazar region for 1,000 children who now study in tent classrooms under extreme desert heat conditions. It is hoped that work will begin on the school in the summer of 2005.

BTW’s Targeted area in Nepal

In 2003, Beyond Tears entered Nepal with water projects, medical clinics; distribution of clothing and blankets, construction and development of a women’s sewing school and other projects which are meeting deep needs of the people. BTW is now involved in the development of an HIV/AIDS clinic always with the goal of targeting needs of hurting people.

It is the desire of the organization to continue its work in other countries and to expand into needy regions of the world such as the Caucasus’ and central Asia. Beyond Tears Worldwide’s commitment is to “help hurting people one compassionate act at a time” wherever we can with whatever resources that are available to us.