A soldier’s spirit in the home of the Ljubisavljević family!

Every army needs a barracks and a place where soldiers in peacetime will have a roof over their heads and a certain type of comfort, in order to perform the assigned tasks as successfully as possible. On the other hand, families that have many children are also a kind of small army, and they also need the comfort and warmth of a family home, as a starting point for development, upbringing and growing up. What is it that connects an army and the Ljubisavljević family from the village of Stropsko near Vranje?

First of all, numbers! Parents Dragan and Dragana formed a whole company of children. Eight of them lined up in the small Ljubisavljević barracks: Anastasia (18), Andrijana (17), Tamara (16), Natalija (14), Dijana (13), Milan (9), Martina (8) and Mladen (7). In addition to them, the four eldest daughters left the family home and started their own families.

Apart from the number, the other thing that connects the Ljubisavljevićs and an army is professional service within the Serbian Army. Two of the daughters who no longer live there, work in the army. And that’s not all. When we asked the oldest girls Anastasia and Andrijana what they were planning to do after high school, they shouted:

To serve in the army! Like our sisters. We don’t think it’s just for men. It is nice and honorable to be a soldier for your country.

A military system must exist in such a large family, it cannot function any other way, both inside and outside the house.

We don’t think we were wrong to have so many children, although it may not seem normal to someone else. They are healthy, proper and they try to help. The oldest daughters sometimes go to work with me, of course they do some easier work, but it is important that they want to. We have to survive. The older ones take care of the younger ones and we help each other – father Dragan explains to us how things are in the house.

The house where the Ljubisavljevićs live is not in the best condition. A storey was added to the house which was financed by another organization, but it was not completed. They share the house with Dragan’s brother. They say it would help them to have the existing rooms renovated, but also to have the upper floor put in order, to provide them with much-needed space for the youngest Ljubisavljevićs.

If possible, we would like that floor to be tidied up. That children can be settled, especially these oldest girls. They need space for learning and for some privacy – adds mother Dragana.

It is sad to observe the suffering of families who have decided to have large offspring, and we do not delve into the reasons for it here. With the current situation facing our people, in terms of the birth rate, the biggest investments must be in large families. Unfortunately, the problem of the white plague among Serbs (declining birth rate), is still not officially recognized at the state level, and even less by the public. Given the scale of this problem from year to year, drastic measures must be taken in order to stop or at least slow down the eventual disappearance of our people.

For sixteen years, our organization has been fighting this silent killer which goes undetected while destroying us. That is why, since the founding of the organization, the focus has been on helping families with a large number of children, who need to be provided with the most basic living conditions. That is why we will do our best to reward the courage of the Ljubisavljević family, and to completely renovate their small barracks, so that they no longer sleep on broken beds, cramped in rooms without floors and windows.

May the heavenly military leader, Archangel Mihailo, through his prayerful intercession, lead the Ljubisavljević company in the fight for a more carefree and beautiful childhood!

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