The Vlahović family of six survives on 70 euros a month and one daily meal from the National Kitchen of the Cathedral of Christ's Resurrection.
Radojica and Vojka, parents of three girls and boys, ages four to nine, have not worked for years, receive 170 euros a month in social assistance, of which 100 pay for two rooms in Maslini.
"Since the beginning, we have been taking free meals from the National Kitchen. If we didn't have that, I don't know how we would survive, it's the only thing that keeps us going. It's good, they bring us cooked meals, potatoes and meat. Children rarely complain, sometimes they ask for something, but I just tell them - I don't have anything, what will I do", Vojka told "Vijesta".
Help is welcome
A little later, their lunch arrived from the National Kitchen - beans, with a piece of bacon and bread.
Few of their things fit in the narrow little room that serves as their living room
They point out that help of any kind is welcome, and that they get clothes and shoes from the Temple... They always somehow provide the textbooks.
"There are good people, we always manage somehow. It's hard, there are all kinds of days, but we survive," asserts Radojica.
They pay rent for two rooms, about twenty square meters in size. In the narrow little room that serves as their living room, there are few of their things, children's clothes and old dishes. The room behind is a little bigger than the living room, it is their bedroom.
In front of the house, in a very small yard - a piece of concrete with several steps, there are two chairs and a table, above which the laundry is drying.
They moved out of the shack
When they remember the conditions in which they lived before, the Vlahovići say that they are satisfied even with those few square meters.
Vojka claims that she cannot work due to illness and that she has a lot of work to do with the children
"We have been here for eight months, we moved from a shack whose roof was so destroyed that we were just waiting for someone to fall on their head. When it rained, all the water poured into our house, and our two daughters got jaundice from the dirt," said Vojka.
Her husband previously worked in city traffic. Now he is at the Bureau and every day he tries to survive with his family in very modest conditions.
Vojka claims that she cannot work due to illness and that she has a lot of work to do with the children.
While gently clinging to their mother, rubbing their eyes, the little ones say that they study well and are obedient. The mother laughed and nodded in agreement.
"They listen, they are really calm. They go to the 'Savo Pejanović' school, they have good friends and they and the teacher have helped several times - they give them a little something, but it means a lot to us", claims Vojka.
150 users of the National Kitchen
Deacon Miomir Vulević told "Vijesti" that the Vlahović family is one of the 150 beneficiaries of the National Kitchen.
"The list of beneficiaries was compiled at the suggestion of priests from Podgorica who have insight into the financial condition of their parishioners. On that list, single mothers, old people who live alone, refugees from Kosovo and Bosnia who live in a difficult financial situation came first," explained Vulević, who is in charge of the National Kitchen.
He pointed out that, as the first National Kitchen in Montenegro, since April 20, 2010, they have been handing out one meal a day - "lunch consisting of a cooked meal and half a loaf of bread".
They deliver meals to 120 addresses
Vulević pointed out that the National Kitchen delivers food to the home address of all people who are unable to come and pick up a meal. He said that they are currently delivering 120 meals, and that another thirty people come to get lunch themselves.
"This is the common work of salvation to which the Lord calls us with the words: 'Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'"
"In the beginning, we distributed 100 meals a day, but thanks to the noble people who help us, we increased the number of meals to 150," said Vulević.
He invited all people to get involved in charity work, according to their capabilities.
"This is the common work of salvation to which the Lord calls us with the words: 'As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' For this purpose, we have opened a donation line in the M-tel network, and by sending the text message 'attachment' to the number 14502, one meal is attached. The price of the message is one euro, and in addition, contributions can be paid to the giro account number 550-12288-79, with an indication for the National Kitchen", said Vulević.
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