January 21, 2023 - Three Makarska volunteers, the people behind the initiative "Makarska Riviera and Friends - With Hearts for Petrinja" truly deserved the "Pride of Croatia" award. Their kindness of people gathered around the action helped restore the house of Božidar Boltužić's family of six in Jabukovec near Petrinja.
As HRT / Poslovni write, this is the first completely renovated home in the area affected by the earthquake.
"After the earthquake, the structural engineers came, followed by Mijo Pašalić, Škaro and Jovica Šegan who told us that they would help us rebuild the house," says Božidar Boltužić, Jabukovac.
Four months after they made that promise, the old house was demolished, and the work on the new one lasted until the beginning of September. The fully equipped two-story house was ready to move into. All good things happen spontaneously, and so did this story, according to the friends who started the initiative and, despite numerous obstacles, finished the job brilliantly. And it all started - the day after New Year's Eve. Over a coffee.
"At one point, it dawned on me - look how nice we have it here, we're having fun, and just two days ago, unfortunately, a huge tragedy happened in Petrinja", said Josko Šarić Škaro, Makarska.
On the second day of New Year 2021, Josko and Jovica headed to Petrinja. There was no time to waste, they knew, and they wanted to help at least one unfortunate family. The home of the Boltužić family was completely unusable, and the family had no alternative accommodation.
"We collected the documentation and when we had everything according to the construction law, we demolished the existing building. It is important to point out is that we wanted the facility to be in the existing dimensions that the family had before, not to make a smaller facility," says Jovica Šegan, Makarska.
The 230-square-meter house cost almost HRK 1,400,000. Seventy-five Makarska volunteers joined the initiative of these three successful entrepreneurs. "We are proud of how it started, how many people we gathered and how it all ended beautifully. After eight months of preparation and construction, we are incredibly proud", concluded Mijo Pašalić.
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