NINA RADIĆ: OUR FIGHT FOR PLAYGROUNDS HAS BECOME A FIGHT FOR ALL OF US

The citizens’ association “Partnership for a Better Banja Luka” was born out of what its president, Nina Radić, describes as a nearly “Don Quixote-like struggle” of a group of parents who wanted to renovate a neglected playground in Carice Milice Street.

PHOTO: SeeSrpska

What began as a local initiative has grown into a movement that today brings together an ever-increasing number of parents and citizens across the city.

“At the beginning, we never imagined that our frustration with the city administration’s ‘stepmotherly’ attitude toward our playground would eventually turn into a lively and diverse movement of parents with children under the age of ten,” Radić says.

The initial idea was simple – to restore the old playground, which after seven decades had become rundown and unsafe for children, using donations and community support. However, parents from other neighborhoods quickly recognized the broader potential of the initiative – a fight for all playgrounds in Banja Luka.

“For four years, we tried to reach the city authorities. We sent over 40 letters to the mayor, collected signatures, submitted petitions... Unfortunately, apart from occasional repainting of decades-old equipment and cleaning the sand once a year, we received nothing,” recalls Radić.

After numerous unsuccessful attempts, the group decided to officially register the association and, as she explains, “try to make a stronger impact from the perspective of a legal entity.”

In their statute, they defined a wider range of goals – from addressing kindergarten fees and the labor rights of preschool teachers to promoting cultural and social development of the community, especially when it comes to the youngest citizens.

Today, “Partnership for a Better Banja Luka” has an active online community. According to Radić, they receive daily messages from parents who share their concerns and ideas.

“Every day we get six or seven messages from parents who want to talk about their problems. We listen, we post photos of playgrounds, we talk with them. It has become a small network of solidarity and collective action,” says Radić.

Shortly after the association was established, several individuals reached out offering concrete help. “Thanks to their support, a new fence was installed on the football section of the playground in Carice Milice. That’s just the beginning – we plan to carry out similar projects across Banja Luka,” she adds.

Radić emphasizes that the association is especially grateful to the media, whose support, as she says, “means a lot and gives us extra motivation to keep fighting.”

“This is only the beginning. Our initial idea has unexpectedly evolved into a wave of enthusiasm and the creation of a critical mass of citizens ready to change their surroundings. I am confident that, in time, we will achieve all our goals,” concludes Nina Radić, president of the association “Partnership for a Better Banja Luka.”