Courage is a virtue that based on the idea people at risk perform noble acts. If this is true, then Ivanka Šućur from Sarajevo is one of the most courageous mothers in the world.
She found an abandoned child during the war in 1993 and brought him home to live with her and her three kids. Elvis today is a member of Ivanka’s family.
“It was 16 October. I went out for water. That was the first time I saw Elvis. He was only 1 year old. I heard him crying. He had in his hands a bottle of spoiled milk and had dirty clothes, which I still have. I will never wash them”, says Ivanka. What she felt at that moment she cannot express with words, but her heart started beating.
Ivanka has three more children , Goran, Zvjezdana and Svetenka. Her daughters are married now and Goran still lives with his mother and Elvis.
“Goran loves Elvis very much. When I first brought him home in 1993, Goran said that we will never give him away”, says Ivanka.
Ivanka says that Elvis was a little troublesome as a child and many did not like him because he was adopted.
“But he is my child and I will never give up on him. We celebrated his birthday. I helped him finish primary and secondary school. I did everything to make him happy. Together with my three children, Elvis has a special place in my heart”, said Ivanka.
It was very hard for her to take care of kids. She said that was donating her blood, sometimes even four times a month in order to get some money for food. Besides her kids, she was taking care of her neighbor Adila Trivučić for six years.
She was awarded with “Srce na dlanu” for her good works from the former President of Croatia Stjepan Mesić and she received the “Duško Kondor” award from Svjetlana Broz. A memorial was built in her honor in Padova, Italy. This mother from Sarajevo has four children and four grandchildren. She says that she is a rich woman.
(Source: Fena)
