In spite of leaving their hearths in search of a better life, many natives of the villages at the foot of Motajica near Srbac have not forgotten their native land, which they visit often and to which many of them have returned for good after decades of working abroad.
The President of the Srđevići Local Community Council, Rade Gudalović, says that it all started six years ago, when their neighbors from the diaspora decided to gather in one place the residents of Gornji and Donji Srđevići, the villages that make up their local community, eager to thus return to their childhood. The gatherings in Srđevići and Lepenica were attended, among others, by the head of Srbac, Mlađan Dragosavljević and his associates, and Srđevići-born RS Finance Minister Zora Vidović who also accepted the invitation.
- This tradition has survived, so once a year we meet with people we grew up with, whose life paths have taken them elsewhere. With the support of the municipality, which helps us in building the infrastructure, we got a new community center, where we plan to organize other get-togethers and dances, like in the old days - said Gudalović.
The president of the Naša Lepenica association, Radivoje Tatić, who has returned to his homeland after a long stay abroad, says that his heart is full when he sees family, neighbors and friends in one place, especially young people, who are fewer and fewer according to him.
- The good news is that four babies were born in our two villages in the past two months, which has not happened for a long time. What is not good is that in Donja Lepenica we have as many as 31 unmarried men. If at least 15 of them got married and at least seven children were born, we could reopen a school in our village - said Tatić.