Beautiful poverty: Surviving in the mountains of Montenegro
It’s eight o’clock in the morning, but the Jolić family is awake and active. Each member of the family has a task to complete. To pick fruit, to work in the vegetable garden, to fetch water, feed the chickens, to milk the cow. And so they live everyday.
“Sometimes we get up at five o’clock in the morning and are working till ten or eleven at night, it depends. But we have to do all that. What can we do? says Vuka with resignation.
Vuka (50) and Mirka (51) look older than they are; only their smiles reveal their real age.
I didn’t know much about agriculture, but I had to do something for my children When they married 25 years ago, they dreamed of a flourishing future. Vuka was a miner in a coalmine in a nearby state company. Mirka was taking care of the children and making a home. The salary seemed to be sufficient for the new family. But Vuka’s company, like so many others in ex-Yugoslavia closed and laid off all its workers, leaving a great part of the population without a job.
Not long after the Jolić family was forced to go back to the mountainous land of Lukin Fir, which belonged to the family for many generations. “I didn’t know much about agriculture, but I had to do something for my children”. In a short time they began to cultivate their own orchard and green garden, as well as breed poultry. Years have passed, but unfortunately the family’s financial situation has never passed the limit of survival.
“We heard that the Jolić family lived in conditions of extreme poverty and that they were interested in taking a loan in AgroInvest”, says Janko Babović, loan officer from the Berane branch, of World Vision’s Microfinance Institution.
“Since the day Vuka took the loan from us, he has always payed his instalments on time. He is an excellent client”, adds Babović.
With a fluctuating monthly income of less than 350 Euros (approximately US$750) the family wasn’t able to acquire a loan from any other institution except for AgroInvest.
“With the loan we bought eight sheep. Now, we’ve got meat and wool for the family. I hope to pay off this credit, in order to take another loan and buy more animals. AgroInvest believed in us. That had never happened to us before“, says Vuka.
In April this year, the Jolić family also benefited from World Vision’s social project called ‘Happy Child’. “We received food, clothes, shoes, school equipment, backpacks for the children to go to school, oil and many other things,” adds Mirka.
AgroInvest believed in us. That had never happened to us before It was the community itself that suggested to World Vision that the family would benefit from this kind of assistance. The connection between the community and AgroInvest is possible thanks to the ’village association model“, which informs residents, so they can recognise issues and resolve their own problems, with the support of World Vision. In this project in particular, the community contributed about 50% of the costs.
Milenko (14) Milena (12) and Jasna (8) who still attend school particularly benefited from the assistance. The older daughters Ivana (23) and Marija (21) are married and have a son and a daughter respectively. Miraš, (22) and Igor (20) are in Budva, working during the summer season. Ivan (17) has finished high school and stayed at home to help. Mladen (11) is mentally challenged and does not receive any special education.
Isolation in rural regions
At the beginning of 2008, World Vision Serbia/ Montenegro conducted a study about the situation of children with special needs in rural regions. The results showed that there are about 8,000 children with special needs, of which 1,000 live in rural regions and don’t have access to any kind of help, because there are no NGOs, government institutions or social centres near those villages.
The majority of the few existing centres are in urban regions. The children don’t have adequate medical care, due to the geographic isolation. Social isolation is also a very prominent issue, where children are raised on the fringes of society.
In response to this very real social issue, World Vision is planning to implement the project ’Keep them at home“, with the aim of preventing the institutionalisation of children with special needs, which is the traditional way of caring for children with disabilities in Montenegro and in Serbia.
According to Ljiljana Spasojević, World Vision coordinator of social programs, “both the Happy Child project, as well as the new pilot project “Keep them at home” aim to help children in rural areas, because they are excluded from all types of help”.
With more financial assistance, Mladen could receive an education and special care on a permanent basis. But this pilot project is the first step towards his integration, considering that it takes residents from Lukin Fir two and a half hours to reach Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro via uphill narrow roads and a series of river crossings.
Going to school
The summer and the surroundings are beautiful. The colour of the day announces summer rain and brings a gentle breeze to the steep hills of Montenegro. The winter brings the contrary. It snows for weeks on end and the temperatures often plummet below zero.
And it is during winter that the Jolić family faces the most difficulties. Mirka cooks on an old stove outside the house. The bathroom is also outside. The children are exposed to illnesses during the five long winter months. Even so, they continue attending classes, even if they have to walk to school, when Vuka and Mirka don’t have enough money to pay their bus fare.
“It takes me about two hours to get to school”, says Milenko with a smile, as if he were already used to it. “In winter it is hard, but what can I do. I have to go by foot,” he adds.
Milena and Jasna also have to walk to school. “It doesn’t bother me, only when there is snow, ice and it’s cold”, says Milena.
The enthusiasm and energy of these children is surprising. Yet, none of them practices any sports nor does any activity outside school. Milenko wants to become a football player, but says, “We don’t have time. We are always doing something here at home. When we go to fetch water we spend about 40 minutes walking to the place and back. Or we look after the animals. What I like most is to collect plums. I don’t like other jobs, but I still do them, we all have to help”, he adds.
In this way the family divides the responsibilities and tries to fairly delegate the many household tasks. And, each family member helps to look after Mladen, who in spite of his physical limitations, seems happy and runs freely around the house.
In Jolić home, which consists of just two wooden rooms, one can feel love and harmony. Their financial difficulties are great, but the children are happy, and although they are tired, they seem content.
“I am the richest man in the world, because I have my wife and my children”, adds father Vuka.
-Ends-
“Sometimes we get up at five o’clock in the morning and are working till ten or eleven at night, it depends. But we have to do all that. What can we do? says Vuka with resignation.
Vuka (50) and Mirka (51) look older than they are; only their smiles reveal their real age.
I didn’t know much about agriculture, but I had to do something for my children When they married 25 years ago, they dreamed of a flourishing future. Vuka was a miner in a coalmine in a nearby state company. Mirka was taking care of the children and making a home. The salary seemed to be sufficient for the new family. But Vuka’s company, like so many others in ex-Yugoslavia closed and laid off all its workers, leaving a great part of the population without a job.
Not long after the Jolić family was forced to go back to the mountainous land of Lukin Fir, which belonged to the family for many generations. “I didn’t know much about agriculture, but I had to do something for my children”. In a short time they began to cultivate their own orchard and green garden, as well as breed poultry. Years have passed, but unfortunately the family’s financial situation has never passed the limit of survival.
“We heard that the Jolić family lived in conditions of extreme poverty and that they were interested in taking a loan in AgroInvest”, says Janko Babović, loan officer from the Berane branch, of World Vision’s Microfinance Institution.
“Since the day Vuka took the loan from us, he has always payed his instalments on time. He is an excellent client”, adds Babović.
With a fluctuating monthly income of less than 350 Euros (approximately US$750) the family wasn’t able to acquire a loan from any other institution except for AgroInvest.
“With the loan we bought eight sheep. Now, we’ve got meat and wool for the family. I hope to pay off this credit, in order to take another loan and buy more animals. AgroInvest believed in us. That had never happened to us before“, says Vuka.
In April this year, the Jolić family also benefited from World Vision’s social project called ‘Happy Child’. “We received food, clothes, shoes, school equipment, backpacks for the children to go to school, oil and many other things,” adds Mirka.
AgroInvest believed in us. That had never happened to us before It was the community itself that suggested to World Vision that the family would benefit from this kind of assistance. The connection between the community and AgroInvest is possible thanks to the ’village association model“, which informs residents, so they can recognise issues and resolve their own problems, with the support of World Vision. In this project in particular, the community contributed about 50% of the costs.
Milenko (14) Milena (12) and Jasna (8) who still attend school particularly benefited from the assistance. The older daughters Ivana (23) and Marija (21) are married and have a son and a daughter respectively. Miraš, (22) and Igor (20) are in Budva, working during the summer season. Ivan (17) has finished high school and stayed at home to help. Mladen (11) is mentally challenged and does not receive any special education.
Isolation in rural regions
At the beginning of 2008, World Vision Serbia/ Montenegro conducted a study about the situation of children with special needs in rural regions. The results showed that there are about 8,000 children with special needs, of which 1,000 live in rural regions and don’t have access to any kind of help, because there are no NGOs, government institutions or social centres near those villages.
The majority of the few existing centres are in urban regions. The children don’t have adequate medical care, due to the geographic isolation. Social isolation is also a very prominent issue, where children are raised on the fringes of society.
In response to this very real social issue, World Vision is planning to implement the project ’Keep them at home“, with the aim of preventing the institutionalisation of children with special needs, which is the traditional way of caring for children with disabilities in Montenegro and in Serbia.
According to Ljiljana Spasojević, World Vision coordinator of social programs, “both the Happy Child project, as well as the new pilot project “Keep them at home” aim to help children in rural areas, because they are excluded from all types of help”.
With more financial assistance, Mladen could receive an education and special care on a permanent basis. But this pilot project is the first step towards his integration, considering that it takes residents from Lukin Fir two and a half hours to reach Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro via uphill narrow roads and a series of river crossings.
Going to school
The summer and the surroundings are beautiful. The colour of the day announces summer rain and brings a gentle breeze to the steep hills of Montenegro. The winter brings the contrary. It snows for weeks on end and the temperatures often plummet below zero.
And it is during winter that the Jolić family faces the most difficulties. Mirka cooks on an old stove outside the house. The bathroom is also outside. The children are exposed to illnesses during the five long winter months. Even so, they continue attending classes, even if they have to walk to school, when Vuka and Mirka don’t have enough money to pay their bus fare.
“It takes me about two hours to get to school”, says Milenko with a smile, as if he were already used to it. “In winter it is hard, but what can I do. I have to go by foot,” he adds.
Milena and Jasna also have to walk to school. “It doesn’t bother me, only when there is snow, ice and it’s cold”, says Milena.
The enthusiasm and energy of these children is surprising. Yet, none of them practices any sports nor does any activity outside school. Milenko wants to become a football player, but says, “We don’t have time. We are always doing something here at home. When we go to fetch water we spend about 40 minutes walking to the place and back. Or we look after the animals. What I like most is to collect plums. I don’t like other jobs, but I still do them, we all have to help”, he adds.
In this way the family divides the responsibilities and tries to fairly delegate the many household tasks. And, each family member helps to look after Mladen, who in spite of his physical limitations, seems happy and runs freely around the house.
In Jolić home, which consists of just two wooden rooms, one can feel love and harmony. Their financial difficulties are great, but the children are happy, and although they are tired, they seem content.
“I am the richest man in the world, because I have my wife and my children”, adds father Vuka.
-Ends-
Share