Desanka Kazić greeted us with a smile at the gate of her new home. “Come on in and welcome … let me make some coffee … please be seated under the vine tree“, she points to a neat patio outside the house. “I got up early this morning to go to the green market, I knew you were coming so I wanted to finish my chores before the heat sets in”.
Desanka has been living in Bačko Petrovo Selo from the end of April 2014. She was born in Suva Reka, and from 1999 she spent several years in Vranje. When she couldn’t afford to pay the rent any longer, she moved to Belvil settlement in Belgrade. “Then my husband got sick. We were in Makiš, in a container, and he died eight months later. I was left on my own, with our son Senad. He is a good boy. He is 12, and goes to school. A quiet boy”, she narrates. “I have two brothers, they are both builders. Oh, they detested the fact that I had to live in Makiš. They wouldn’t even visit me “…
Through the “Let’s Build a Home Together” project, which is supported by the European Union, a two-room house was bought for Desanka. The 3.6 million Euros project will provide durable housing solutions for up to 170 Roma families who previously lived in unhygienic settlements in Belgrade. The families can decide to live in a social housing flat, village house or to finish the works on the house they had started to construct with their own resources previously.
“I really enjoy it here. I love the tranquillity. In the morning, I do some housework – I take a hoe and I till. We were late with planting, but I will have a colourful garden next year! In the afternoon, I go for a walk. The villagers are nice, and the neighbours are good. Stana, for example, she is a Serb, and she drops in for a coffee now and then. We chat… she brought me some peas and onions the other day. The previous owners of the house also pop in. They were truly surprised when they saw how I fixed this place”, Desanka describes proudly.
Through the project, Desanka received the material to reconstruct the house, but also a basic set of household appliances: washing machine, stove and a fridge. “The washing machine is really good – extra! And in the winter, when I make the fire in Smederevac… the heating will be superb! “
Desanka’s brothers helped her with the reconstruction works. “My brother told me: don’t’ breathe down my neck, my nail will twist. Don’t rush,“she laughs. “I am not done with the works, but, I will take it easy. I fixed what was urgent. You see, I even brought the rubbish bin. I applied for it immediately, but then I would have had to wait for it to be brought to the village. I packed up and went to Bečej, I collected the bin, put it in the car and brought it home “.
“It’s truly nice here. The linden trees smell everywhere. And I have my own house. I cannot wait to welcome people to my home”, Desanka waves us off cheerfully saying that the next time we visit, the house will be even nicer.
About the project “Let’s Build a Home Together” read here.
