The biggest wish: building material

Elmir Omerović and his wife Mevlina Omerović have 14 children. They all live together in a confined space in a small house with only one room. Without running water – Elmir has raised a well in front of the house by hand. They also are connected to the power grid – wherever we go, Sponge Bob is running on TV.

Size can be relative

The NGO Zemlja djece (Children’s Country) in nearby Tuzla supports the family with all means. It helps them, for example, with visits to the authorities and grant applications. One success of the support is the fact that all Omerović children of school age attend school in Kiseljak.

But there is one thing the NGO could not help the family with: to move to a dry and humane housing. The Omerovićs are too many for the state-subsidized apartments. These have not enough square meters for a family of 16, therefore those apartments are regarded as violation of human dignity.

Because they lack the property the Omerovićs are not entitetled for subsidized housing constructions. They are trapped in a vicious Kafkaesque circle. The family’s biggest wish today is building material to add at least one more room to their current house on their own. If you have building material left, please contact Zemlja Djece to get in contact.

Photos: © Zorana Mušikić