Be it day or night, children with special needs in Zenica can always count on taxi driver Rusmir Ljutvijevic to drive them wherever they need to go, for free.
Ljutvijevic himself is the father of a special needs child and knows what it takes to take care of such children. He told the Anadolu Agency he wants to help all those who need it and that he does not care how much gas he spends on it.
“Becoming a taxi driver was my big wish and the reason for it is my child which has a disease connected with the shank3 gene. There is no cure for him and the battle we are fighting for six years already is very difficult,” he said.
Last year, a campaign to raise money for a cure for Danin took place, “but that cure does not exist,” Ljutvijevic said.
He explained that he has seen many children with various disabilities during his visits to various associations with his son, adding that “this affects you, and I had a big wish to help.”
He said that a lot of people still call him from various states all over the world and offer help, but that he can not accept that only his child receives such help while there are others who need it as well. That is why he forwards the money he receives that way to various associations that deal with special needs children.
He said there are a lot of parents who do not have the financial means to provide the most basic things for their children – “the basics for hygiene, food and medicine.”
The taxi driver praised his colleagues who stepped up and offered to take over any children he can not manage to drive.
He also urged media to visit associations that deal with special needs children and to talk to parents about how much one must sacrifice and how much it costs to take care of such children.
“Everyone must see the true situation those children are in,” he said.
