Dragica and her husband live in Gorobilje; about four hours drive from Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. “With the first loan we bought ten sheep. With the second one, we bought goats and tools for my work of welding,” explained Dragica’s husband Vito.

“With the loans, we have bought more animals and we could build a new house. Now we are secure. We have a future. Having sheep is like savings for us,” said Dragica.

The Novaković family has two daughters, Milena, 15, and Jelena, 13. The girls survived Winters without heating for the past 12 years.

“The winters are terribly cold here, because in this region there’s a lot of fog. My daughters suffered from bronchitis,” continued Dragica.

In 2006 they received help through the World Vision ‘Happy Child’ project. They received a stove, which heats the living-dining room and the kitchen. Happy Child is a social program that directly helps children of micro-finance clients. It is financed with a percentage of the MFI’s profit.

“Now, my wife and my girls sleep in the living room in Winter, because it is the only warm part of the house,” said Vito.

Charlie Dokmo, the new vice president of World Vision’s Middle East, Eastern Europe Region, visited Serbia and Montenegro in August this year and also visited the Novaković family.

“Most people think of Serbia only in terms of war and recent war. But, there are poor families, with desperate economic challenges and suffering as a result of this overall unemployment.

“One of the main highlights of this visit is the rural lending model, through village associations. The lending to poor families in rural areas has been a challenge for the Micro-Finance Institutions for decades, to also be economically sustainable. The ‘Village association model’, at least in this culture, seems to be a solid way,” said vice-president, Charlie Dokmo.