Veljko Miljanić (46) from Užice lived and worked as a software engineer in America for 13 years, and then he had the idea to create a free application for learning the alphabet. After that, he made the decision to move to Serbia and raise his three children in his home country!
He worked for just as long on the creation of the application itself, which is intended for children aged four to seven, and into which a lot of effort has been invested. The idea was born after the Church of Saint Sava in Seattle, where he lived with his family, organized a Serbian language school, which was a significant event for Serbs in Seattle.
Significant for Serbian children in the world
–My two daughters started going to that school and I thought how convenient it would be to find an application where they could learn. At that moment, there were only a few applications, basic ones, and I didn’t find what would be convenient for them. I saw the need to create this as something significant for all Serbian children in the world, but also in Serbia. This is also important for the preservation of our cultural identity, because Cyrillic is the primary Serbian script and generally of significance to our culture. It seemed like a really good opportunity – Miljanić explains for Kurir.
He set high criteria and aimed for English language applications made by serious companies.
–The production lasted three years with breaks, because there was also a move, so it stretched out. It wasn’t that simple; it stretched out because it was a high-level application. I wanted beautiful graphics, a professionally recorded voice, all of that is actually harder – he tells us.
Veljko invested 1,500 euros into the application and its production, and the biggest expense was the time he invested.
–During that time, I could have been receiving a salary, but I considered this to be significant and that it should be done. I did the best I could. There are maybe a dozen applications intended for learning the alphabet and Cyrillic, but this is the only serious one – Miljanić is proud.
The “Learning the Alphabet” application aims to make learning Serbian Cyrillic easier for children through play, both reading and writing. It consists of various mini-games and tasks that include letter recognition, writing letters, identifying the starting letter in a word, connecting letters into a word, and reading and writing words.
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The users, as Veljko says, are mostly satisfied.
–I often get great comments; I love hearing a child’s comment the most. They like it and ask their parents to play, and at the same time, they learn; many are also interested in what is at the end of the map. I am satisfied with the reactions and I think this is a successful project. The idea was for it to be available and free so that as many users as possible could play and learn; I wanted people to see that someone is ready to do something of quality for their people, and that was my goal. My children like it, my youngest daughter played it, and with the help of the application, she learned the alphabet – emphasized Miljanić, who returned to Serbia three years ago after 13 years of working in the IT sector in America.
He decided to return to his homeland because of family and friends, and he has not regretted it.
–It was important to me to raise and educate my children in Serbia, and on the other hand, parents are getting older and they need care, but also to see their grandchildren. I see myself here in retirement. A lot of people are returning; it’s not a rare case. As far as income is concerned, I was satisfied there, and I am satisfied here, because in the software industry, the earnings are good – he states.
He says that in America there are greater chances for career advancement in large companies, but that the objective part tipped the scales for him and his wife to move to Belgrade with their children.
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Source: Kurir, Photo: Privatna arhiva