The Jewish Community in Bosnia dates back to the 15th century, when Sephardic Jews escaping the Spanish Inquisition found refuge in the Ottoman-occupied Balkans.
The original goal of La Benevolencija was to pool funds so that Bosnian Jewish students could attend better universities in other parts of the Empire.
[2] Because levels of antisemitism were relatively lower in the Balkans than in other parts of the Empire, many students returned to Sarajevo after their university studies, which helped the long-term growth of the organization.
[2] When phone lines and postal service was cut, the organization set up a two-way radio link for people to keep in contact with the outside world, and worked with international journalists to receive and distribute letters.
[5][3] As the siege dragged on, the organization worked with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee to allow convoys of civilians to escape the city and travel to peaceful territory.
Working with the World Bank, the UNHCR and the US Government, the organization developed a microcredit program that offered loans up to 10000 Bosnian convertible marks to small businesses.
[4] With the help of the JDC, the organization provides care for 100-400 people two to three times a week, operating not only in Sarajevo, but in Mostar, Zenica, Doboj, Banja Luka and Tuzla.
[8] In 2002, inspired by La Benevolencija, a group media professionals in the Netherlands founded the NGO Radio La Benevolencija Humanitarian Tools Foundation (RLB), an organisation producing the radio soap Musekeweya [fr], as well as documentaries and educational programmes in Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi for the empowerment of people who are the targets of hate violence.