We’re adding our story too.

In the winter of 2020, we were given the keys to OUR house.

We’ll never have to move again, and Klárka will eventually inherit the house, so she won’t have to look for those horribly overpriced flats to rent and will have a foundation for her life – something I myself didn’t have from my parents.

But after all this excitement, we were dealt a bit of a blow.

We only have five years to meet the energy efficiency requirements.

That means a complete renovation of the house from top to bottom.

In total, including our own savings, we had about €52,000.

We did everything ourselves to save as much money as possible, because we’ll certainly need it elsewhere.

We had to re-wire the entire property, install new waste pipes and water mains...

A friend of ours, a qualified electrician, installed the electricity for us, so we saved quite a bit of money there too, as we were able to get everything at cost price, i.e. without VAT.

The builders who were supposed to pour the concrete screed for the floors everywhere took the deposit and vanished into thin air.

No one answered the phone, replied to emails, and even the police were unsuccessful.

I panicked!

But they say you know who your friends are in a pinch!

I began to feel hopeful again that we would manage to get everything done in time.

Wrong...

Our roof is leaking into the house...

I rang several companies and tradesmen to ask if they could come and have a look and quote for a new roof, but none of them

would settle for less than €50,000...

I couldn’t afford that!

So we found only a temporary solution to seal the roof, and I hoped it would hold out for a while.

The roof held up bravely until 16 February 2022...

A storm named Eunice swept across Europe and blew our roof off...

After a long two hours at the insurance branch, I was able to drive home, but an elderly lady failed to see me at a junction and crashed into us. The insurance company put the damage at €10,000....

The repairs were paid for out of our savings set aside for the renovation. Because I needed the car.

I had a full-time job plus a part-time job, and Klárka had to go to nursery... We couldn’t manage without a car, because everything was so far away.

Even after five months, we still hadn’t made any progress. Still no new updates.

In May 2022, we at least received a statement regarding the insurance claim for the blown-off roof.

The insurance company will pay us compensation of €2,850.

In the meantime, we carried on building, using materials we found very cheaply, or even for free, in exchange for collection, on the internet

Summer 2022.

While working a summer job as a security guard at a festival, I met a new partner.

At first he helped with the work on the house, and after a few weeks he moved in with us.

Everything went well for another couple of weeks; work on the house was progressing, except for the running of the household and the associated finances.

Every request for help ended in an argument and, countless times, physical assault.

All work on the house came to a complete standstill.

I was afraid to tell him to leave, because when I tried, he attacked me again.

My savings for the house renovation were dwindling day by day, as I was forced to use them to run the household. 

I lived in fear and uncertainty until August 2024, when my daughter came to ask me to be her cheerful mum again, as I used to be, because she was scared. I found the courage and told him I wanted him to leave. A huge drama ensued, but he left.

But his departure brought further complications.

I didn’t have a car. So I had to apply for another loan from the bank and buy a new one

But even though I’d got rid of my fear of my partner and sorted out the car problem, that was replaced by a fear of not having enough time to repair the house.

We have one year left and we have to manage to put on a new roof, insulate the house and connect the heating.

These are all huge tasks, and thanks to everything that’s happened over the past few years, I no longer have the strength to even get out of bed in the morning or put on a cheerful face at work, or to smile, when I wake up every morning knowing that I’ve failed as a mother and can’t even provide my daughter with a happy and colourful childhood.

But, as I really don’t know what to do next, I’m turning to the public media

and I would like to ask for your help too; even every €5 will help us raise enough so that we don’t have to live in fear of losing our home!

A thousand thanks for your understanding and willingness to help, and please share our story.