Selflessly helping his countrymen, neighbors, friends, and relatives, Milomir Glavčić (100), originally from the hamlet of Pope in the Kovači village near Jošanička Banja, has countless times proven that he has a heart bigger than the vastness of Canada, whose citizen he has been for decades.
According to rough estimates, this great philanthropist and humanitarian has donated or gifted around ten million euros in Serbia over the past decades, and two million to Kraljevo alone! Of that, he donated about one million euros for the construction of a new bridge over the Ibar River in the center of Kraljevo, which was opened to traffic ten years ago and proudly bears his name.
Then, a few years later, he donated a little over half a million euros to the “Studenica” General Hospital in Kraljevo for the purchase of an MRI machine, then another 247,500 for the purchase of the most modern scanner, then 70,000 for an ultrasound, and he did not spare funds for an ambulance for the local health center. He also donated 200,000 euros for the construction of a kindergarten in the Kraljevo pre-school institution in the Beranovac neighborhood, named “Milomir”.
In addition, Glavčić once financed the construction of a kindergarten in Raška, financially helped and continues to help educate young people, treat the sick, and during the war years in the former Yugoslavia he did not forget the refugees, nor the most vulnerable during the floods of 2014 and 2016 and during the Covid pandemic. He also helped build two churches in his native region, the renovation and construction of local roads, schools, libraries, and cultural centers.
As befits such a great philanthropist, his recent 100th birthday (December 6th) was marked by appropriate events in Kraljevo, with an exhibition in honor of his life and work, as well as a literary program dedicated to his autobiography “A Thorn in the Foot on a Long Journey,” thus once again expressing deep and sincere gratitude for Milomir’s humanity and empathy.
“I lie down at night and wake up in the morning with a smile, knowing that there, in my Serbia, someone is sincerely happy with my gift. I know what poverty, hardship, and want are. Helping others is the greatest reward for myself,” the philanthropist Milomir modestly said through his grandson Goran Glavčić from faraway Canada to his countrymen. “Grandpa worked hard to create his wealth, and he always wanted to help his relatives, his native region, his people, and his country, and he is very happy that he succeeded.”
And his life story, from this temporal distance, truly resembles the script for a high-budget Hollywood production. Born in 1924, he was soon orphaned. In search of a crust of bread, Milomir bravely left his native region for the world in 1948. First to Kraljevo, then to Belgrade, and then, via Lake Prespa, he reached Greece. The journey then took him through Italy to Canada, where he finally settled in the city of Niagara Falls. Working day and night at numerous jobs, from mining, metalworking, and carpentry, to hospitality and real estate, thanks to his hard work, he acquired a considerable fortune – hotels, a 3D cinema, hundreds of hectares of land…
Although he has not been in Serbia for more than seven decades, he has never forgotten where he came from, he has not forgotten his homeland and his countrymen, demonstrating in practice what true patriotism and love of country are.
“Everything that is great comes from the provinces, and so the Seine River came to Paris” – with this quote by Jacques Prévert, the people of Kraljevo, with gratitude for everything he has done for the city on the Ibar, wished their benefactor good health and congratulated him on his 100th birthday, emphasizing that Milomir Glavčić is the best example that the great French poet was right.
Thanks to Milomir Glavčić, the first Charter of Serbian-Canadian Friendship in modern history was signed in 2015, which is a significant step in advancing bilateral relations between the two countries, especially in terms of economic cooperation and investment, and cultural exchange.
Church and state recognitions
For his philanthropy and humanity, Patriarch Irinej awarded Milomir Glavčić the Order of Saint Sava, Third Class, and former President of the Republic of Serbia Tomislav Nikolić – the Sretenje Gold Medal. On the occasion of his 100th birthday, “Pošta Srbije” (Serbian Post), in agreement with the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, decided that, after Novak Djokovic, Glavčić would be the second living Serb to be honored with his image on a postage stamp.
MORE TOPICS:
Source: Novosti, Photo: Privatna arhiva; G.Šljivić