Every child deserves a warm home

“My strongest impression is that we should help as much as possible in situations like this, and be present, and truly aware of everything that is happening,” says 18-year-old Nevena Sredic after visiting ten socially vulnerable families with multiple children in villages around Kosjeric, together with her peer and namesake, Nevena Jakovljevic.

In Makoviste, the two volunteers saw first-hand the challenges faced by the Mijajlovic family, who heat only their living room in an unfinished two-storey house. During the winter, the family of four sleeps there.

“We heat with wood, we have our own forest, so we keep the fire going and don’t let it go out,” explains Milisav, sitting next to a small mattress placed by the stove for six-year-old Vuk to sleep on. “I work in the woods every day, you know what that work is like. I also work the fields, potatoes, vegetables, and a greenhouse. All because of them. We’re pushing through,” he adds, looking proudly at his son and his seven-year-old daughter, Vanja.

In rural households, where income is uncertain, and heating depends on wood and electricity, winter intensifies every hardship. The Jovanovic family in nearby Donja Polosnica knows this well. Milka and Nenad have eight children, with a ninth on the way. They heat their small family home with wood and do everything they can to ensure the children can stay, study, and play in warmth.

“It’s challenging, but since we live in the village, we have our own forest, so we cut our wood and heat that way,” says Milka. She splits the wood herself, as her husband’s work has taken him to another town. She says it is not difficult, because she has a reason to work, and for whom. Still, part of the house must be heated with electricity, which puts pressure on the family budget. “As a family with many children, we receive 250 kilowatt-hours of electricity free from the state. But once we go over that 250 limit, we pay for it. In winter, the bill can go up to 500 kilowatt-hours, and it’s not only for heating. There’s the washing machine, the water heater, and everything else that runs on electricity. We spend more than five or six thousand a month on electricity,” Milka explains.

Across the ten homes the volunteers visited, warmth escapes through windows, doors and uninsulated walls. The volunteers observed and documented these conditions, and shared practical advice to help families save energy, reduce bills, and provide a healthier home environment for children.

Before the visits, the volunteers completed a training through the joint programme “Greener futures, brighter beginnings: Local action for child rights and energy efficiency,” financed by the Joint SDG Fund and implemented by UNICEF, UNEP, and UN-Habitat, in partnership with the Red Cross. The programme highlights that the energy transition cannot be separated from social justice, and every child’s right to grow up in a warm home and a healthy environment.

The two 18-year-old volunteers from Kosjeric also demonstrated how small changes can make a difference: how donated LED bulbs reduce electricity use; how sealing strips for windows and doors cut draughts; how radiator reflector foil helps keep heat in the home; and how a quality extension cord with built-in safety features can improve household safety.

“We also spoke with the children and shared different tips on what they can do and how they can contribute,” Nevena Jakovljevic adds.

The ten families were selected by the Red Cross in Kosjeric in cooperation with the local government and the Centre for Social Work.

“For these families, even small support matters, and they need so much,” says Silvija Petrovic from the Red Cross in Kosjeric. She adds that the organisation plans to continue its support. “We are talking with the municipality and planning new project proposals. We have already submitted one proposal to a large local company, and I hope we will receive support,” she says.

The support provided by the young volunteers also changed them.

Original publication: https://www.unicef.org/serbia/en/stories/every-child-deserves-warm-home

Note:

All joint programmes of the Joint SDG Fund are led by UN Resident Coordinators and implemented by the agencies, funds, and programmes of the United Nations development system. With sincere appreciation for the contributions from the European Union and Governments of Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland for a transformative movement towards achieving the SDGs by 2030.