Help Repair Their Home and Lives

Hello friends-

I would like to raise money to help my cousins who live in Bosnia to repair their house and help them start living a normal life. Here is a background story of the situation:

My cousins grew up in harsh conditions/poverty, and it is the only life they knew existed. It was all okay while the mother was alive, who was the family caretaker and bread provider. She struggled to make ends meet, and while family that lived abroad every now and then contributed, it helped them survive. Unfortunately, at the very beginning of Covid-19, my aunt died, most likely from Covid. She was only 45 years old at the time. She left her two boys, aged 16 and 18 at the time. The husband was diagnosed and treated for bipolar and schizophrenic disorders, and most of the time while she was still alive, he had outbursts towards the wife and boys and would threaten and be very violent and physically abusive. Needless to say, the boys grew up in this toxic environment on top of struggling to survive with basic necessities. The older brother, who is 23 now, has moved out of the house, got a job as a welder but sustained a back injury and was recently in a car accident, which prevented him from working for several months. Prior to injuries, he obtained a loan since he was working and bought a fixer-upper that needs to have utilities turned on so that he and his brother can finally move there and not be constantly attacked by their abusive father. The younger boy was kicked out of the house by his dad last week and is temporarily staying with our aunt. My goal is that my family and friends and other good people help these boys finally start living a normal life. The goal is to fix the house so they can move in there in the summer and buy them goats, chickens, and help them organize a garden so they can be more self-sustainable. The older brother will hopefully continue working so he is able to pay the loan on the house. I would like to thank everyone who contributes, even a little, as it will be a huge help in reaching the goal of securing a normal life for these two wonderful souls.

Dragi prijatelji,

Želim prikupiti novac da pomognem svojim rođacima koji žive u Bosni da obnove kuću koju su nedavno kupili i da im pomognem da započnu normalan život. Evo pozadine situacije: Moji rođaci odrastali su u teškim uslovima/siromaštvu i to je bio jedini život koji su poznavali. Sve je bilo u redu dok je majka bila živa, ona je bila njegovatelj porodice i izvor prihoda. Borila se da sastavi kraj s krajem, a dok je porodica koja je živjela u inostranstvu povremeno doprinosila, to im je pomoglo da prežive. Nažalost, na početku Covid-19, moja tetka je preminula, najvjerovatnije od Covida. Imala je samo 45 godina u to vrijeme. Ostavila je svoja dva sina, starosti 16 i 18 godina. Otac je bio dijagnostikovan i liječen (ali ne uspješno) od bipolarnog poremećaja i shizofrenije, i većinu vremena dok je ona bila živa, imao je ispade prema supruzi i sinovima, preteći i fizički ih zlostavljajući. Dan prije nego što je tetka umrla, nasrnuo je na mlađeg sina nožem. Suvišno je reći da su dječaci odrasli u ovoj toksičnoj sredini, pored borbe za osnovne životne neophodnosti. Stariji brat, koji sada ima 23 godine, iselio se iz kuće, dobio posao kao zavarivač, ali je doživio povredu leđa i nedavno bio u saobraćajnoj nesreći, što mu je onemogućilo da radi nekoliko mjeseci. Prije povreda je uzeo kredit jer je radio i kupio kuću koja treba da se renovira kako bi on i njegov brat konačno mogli da se usele i ne budu stalno vezani za zlostavljačkog oca. Mlađi brat je prošle nedelje izbačen iz kuće od strane oca i trenutno boravi sa našom tetkom. Moj cilj je da moja porodica, prijatelji i drugi dobri ljudi pomognu tim dječacima da konačno započnu normalan život. Cilj je da se kuća popravi kako bi se mogli useliti ovo ljeto i da im kupimo koze, kokoši, i pomognemo da organizuju baštu kako bi postali samoodrživi. Stariji brat će, nadamo se, nastaviti raditi kako bi mogao otplaćivati kredit za kuću. Želim se zahvaliti svima koji pruže podršku, čak i ako je to malo, jer će biti velika pomoć u ostvarenju cilja obezbjeđivanja normalnog života za ova dva divna bića.