What was just cultivated land a few months ago has now become a thriving garden full of life. Following the spring harvest of radishes, spinach, spring onions and green lettuce, new crops are now being harvested every day at the Small Family Home in Ledići. They were lovingly sown, planted and cared for by children without parental care together with Belma Mujezinović, Director of Foundation Second, volunteers and local neighbours.
So far, cucumbers, lettuce, Swiss chard and zucchinis have been harvested, while the Foundation Director could not resist digging up a few young potatoes to see how much they had grown before preparing them for lunch.
What makes this garden truly special is that no pesticides or other chemical plant protection products are used. Every plant is grown exclusively using natural methods so that the children can enjoy completely healthy, safe and high-quality food.
Instead of chemical products, a natural garlic-based solution is used to protect cabbage crops by repelling cabbage bugs. Slugs and Colorado potato beetles are collected by hand, while weeds are removed through hoeing and hand weeding. This method of cultivation requires considerably more time and effort, but it also teaches children how food can be grown in harmony with nature, without harmful chemicals.
Meanwhile, the garden is becoming richer every day. Everyone is eagerly waiting for tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, melons, carrots and parsley, while beans, peas, green beans, sweet corn, sunflowers, pumpkins and strawberries continue to grow and prepare to bear their first harvest.
Besides providing children with fresh and healthy vegetables, this garden has also become an outdoor classroom. Through working together, the children learn how food is grown, while developing responsibility, patience, practical skills and gratitude for every harvest they gather with their own hands.
Belma Mujezinović, Director of Foundation Second, believes this garden carries a very special meaning.
"I believe the true blessing of this garden lies in the fact that we grow food here for orphaned children. Every seed has been planted with a prayer that it will benefit these children, and every fruit we harvest reminds us that Allah provides sustenance in ways we often cannot even imagine. What makes me especially happy is knowing that the children are eating vegetables we have grown completely naturally, without a single pesticide. When you see how healthy, delicious and abundant the harvest is, you simply feel that blessing."
She adds that the garden is not the result of the efforts of one person or one organisation, but of an entire community united by the desire to give these children the very best.
"Our faith teaches us that caring for orphaned children is among the greatest acts of kindness, and that neighbours hold a special place in Islam. That is why I am especially grateful that our neighbours from Ledići have become part of this story. I believe their hard work is one of the reasons why this garden has been blessed with such abundance."
Foundation Second extends its sincere gratitude to all donors, friends and volunteers who helped make this garden a reality, while expressing special appreciation to the neighbours of Ledići.
Our heartfelt thanks go to the hardworking neighbours who generously gave their time, machinery and expertise to plough, till and fertilise the land, laying the foundations for a rich and healthy garden.
We are equally grateful to the women from the village who sowed seeds, planted vegetables, weeded and hoed the garden alongside us, generously sharing their knowledge and demonstrating that the best things are created through cooperation. Their help was far more than practical support—it became a valuable life lesson for children without parental care, teaching them first-hand the meaning of solidarity, community spirit and good neighbourly care.
We also extend our sincere thanks to all donors whose contributions made it possible to purchase seeds, seedlings and other essential materials. Thanks to their generosity, the garden now produces large, healthy and exceptionally delicious crops that find their way to the tables of children staying at the Small Family Home in Ledići every day.
Special thanks also go to Dr. Alija Mulaomerović, founder of the ProBITRA Foundation, who made this piece of land available for us to develop a garden for children without parental care. Thanks to his trust and support, what was once an unused plot has been transformed into a place where healthy food grows alongside invaluable life lessons. Today, this garden teaches children responsibility, patience, hard work and gratitude, while every harvested crop reminds us how one good deed can benefit so many people.
Every harvested cucumber, zucchini and leaf of lettuce or Swiss chard is much more than food. They are a reminder that goodness returns goodness, that unity bears fruit, and that with Allah's help and the support of kind-hearted people, a simple piece of land can become a place that provides children without parental care with healthy meals, new knowledge, a sense of home and memories they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.
As summer continues, we believe the garden will become even more abundant. New crops will keep ripening, but what matters most will remain forever—the children will remember that, with their own hands and the help of good people, they created something truly valuable and learned that the greatest blessings are born when we work for the benefit of others.