Jovan, who seems not to be bothered by the heat, says that the raspberry orchard next to a nearby house was planted by his parents Božana and Miloš, but his older sister Jovana and he took responsibility for it.
His determination to enable himself better conditions for education with his hard working hands has earned him a clean A.
“I get up around six every morning, water the orchard, and then harvest the raspberries with my sister and bring them on the road. Here I have a wooden chair, a parasol, and a bottle of water,” this little boy describes his “workplace” next to the hot asphalt that is only sometimes refreshed by the mountain breeze.
“Everyone asks me something, they ask me where did I get my hat from, would I sell it, how old am I, am I a good student… People who pass this road ask me things, and I answer them,” said this little boy, who wears a black hat under which you can see blue tufts of hair and bright, curious eyes pointed to the road where cars move fast from Banja Luka towards Mrkonjić Grad and Ključ, and further towards the Adriatic Sea.
“I do not know how much I earned exactly. I give all the money to my mom, and she leaves it somewhere. I just know that one pack of raspberries costs five BAM. That is not expensive. No one complains, they just smile and pay. Sometimes they even give more… My raspberries are sweet, you do not need to add sugar, I can assure you,” Jovan said, talking about his products while the dark red juice runs between his fingers and down the palms.
Jovan revealed his secret.
“I would like to learn how to drive a Yugo, the one that is parked next to the house, but my dad does not allow me to do it yet. He says it is enough that I know how to ride a bike. What is a bike for me? Nothing. There are kids who know how to plow with a tractor. I would like to know that, too, so I can plant a huge raspberry orchard and then put the raspberries in my Yugo and drive them to Banja Luka, to the market. That would be really great,” Jovan said.
(Source: novi.ba/photo: novi.ba)
