Sustainability at the SOS Childrens Village

Adnan Alikadić has a plan. He wants to do something for our world. The program manager of the SOS Children's Village in Sarajevo, Bosnia, wants to transform it into a green, smart village. That's because he thinks it's high time to get a grip on the climate crisis, and that this task can't be passed on to children and future generations.

"We adults have to lead by example and show the children that a different life is possible," he says. "In our case, we do it step by step, casually and with a positive attitude. We don't want to put pressure on the children. Many of them are severely traumatized, so we don't want to stress them out with waste separation, too."

An e-car for an SOS Children's Village

 It all started a few years ago when he started his job as a program manager at SOS Children's Village Sarajevo and wanted to make a difference there. "I wanted to build a solar system on the roofs," says Adnan Alikadić. "And then, fortunately, I got in touch with a few people who supported me in the project." Today, solar panels glitter on the roofs of the SOS Children's Village buildings. Among others, Adnan Alikadić had contact with the long-distance bus company FlixBus and the climate protection organization "atmosfair." They also talked about other green ideas. At some point, for example, the topic of electric cars came up. "In Bosnia, electric cars are not very common. In Sarajevo, there are maybe 20 or 25 of them." 

Even though the acquisition of an electric car was not easy - in the meantime, thanks to the support from the climate contribution of FlixBus passengers and atmosfair, there is one of them in the SOS Children's Village Sarajevo. "Our solar system produces more electricity than we need. We will now set up a charging station that uses this electricity to charge the car," says Adnan Alikadić. "This is something unique in Bosnia, there is nothing like it before."