HERO FATHER FROM KRAGUJEVAC: He took his daughter with Down syndrome out of an institution, worked two jobs and raised her alone! (PHOTOS)

In the heart of Serbia, in Kragujevac lives a hero father who, through his own example, shows that being a parent is not easy, but when it comes to your child, there is no giving up.

The entire city knows Slaviša Veličković and his daughter Anja (21) as Caki and Lokica. They have been an inseparable team for more than two decades.

Lokica was born with Down syndrome, and her mother, who was Slaviša’s wife at the time, placed the baby in an institution, and they divorced. Slaviša could not and did not want to accept this, so he took his daughter out of the institution and became a single father.

“I submitted a request at the time, the authorities came and saw that I met all the requirements, and I took my daughter home with me. It is a challenge and it is not easy, but there is no disability or force that could have separated me from my child,” Slaviša told RINA.

Since then, father and daughter have been everything to each other. Caki worked and still works two jobs so that he can provide Lokica with as much as possible.

She completed elementary and high school with the help of a personal assistant whom her father Caki paid for out of his own pocket, and despite her disabilities and Down syndrome, she became a content and happy young woman.

svg

View this post on the Instagram app

Post shared by Regionalna informativna novinska agencija (RINA) (@_rina.rs)

“There have been many challenges. When you have children without disabilities, you know how much care and responsibility there is, and I won’t even mention when your child has Down syndrome. Still, I am not the type to complain or feel sorry for myself. I did everything to make Lokica happy, and I am most proud of both her and myself that we succeeded. From this perspective, all of those things were, as I would call them, sweet troubles,” says this wonderful and devoted father.

Lokica enjoys socializing, music and spending time with her friends at the café where members of the “Down” Association of Kragujevac regularly gather, but she also helps her father in his workshop.

“She likes to sleep a little longer and wakes up to music. Then she gets herself ready, has breakfast at her grandmother’s, and then we go to my workshop. We do auto detailing and deep vehicle cleaning, and I try to teach her as much as possible about the job. My goal is for her to master it well, take the exam and get a certificate, which would make her one of the few women in Serbia doing this kind of work, and it would also give her additional confidence and independence,” says Siniša.

Although she helps her father in the workshop, Lokica’s greatest love is music, and her father Caki does his best to fulfill all her wishes.

“She loves to dance, sing and listen to our singers. Sloba Radanović, for example, publicly sent his regards to Lokica on his Instagram, and she was overjoyed, so I thank him for that. She loves going to the café where her friends are; they celebrate birthdays and socialize there. The atmosphere is always great. I also love taking her to live music and to restaurants. She really enjoys that too. She lives a life similar to that of her peers. Everything I do, I do for her, so that she lacks nothing,” says the Kragujevac native sincerely.

For parents who have children with developmental disabilities, particularly Down syndrome, this father has just one message.

“It is not easy, but keep your head up, and with God’s help, anything is possible. Lokica and I often go to Ostrog Monastery, and that gives us great spiritual strength. I would tell parents, because I know from experience, that when a child has disabilities, divorce often follows, that they should nevertheless stay together. They should stand united and not give up either on their children or on their family,” Slaviša says in conclusion.

MORE TOPICS: