Maja Odzaklievska on the toughest years: 'I'm not ashamed of honest work'

Maja Odzaklievska, the singer known across the region for an angelic voice, spent decades as one of the area’s most respected performers. Today she lives quietly in Staro Selo near Velika Plana and has spoken openly about the hardest chapters of her life — from temporarily leaving the stage to do physical work, to the long, personal struggle of caring for a grandson with autism.

Economic collapse in 1992 forced Odzaklievska to put her career on hold and look for steady income outside music. A friend who ran a vulcanizer shop that sold used tires offered her employment as an overseer.

She recalls how the new role exposed her to everyday realities far from the stage: "He hired me, and he was overjoyed when I discovered that the workers were stealing from him." Her monthly pay was modest — around 500 German marks — compared with the fees she once earned per song, but she never felt ashamed of honest labor. "My salary was around 500 marks, and until then for one song I used to take even 1,000. But I was grateful that I could earn my denar honestly. There is no feeling of dissatisfaction when you earn money with your own labor. As long as the work is honest, every denar is as big as a house. My mother always told me: 'Child, God has nothing against honest work'."

Work abroad and everyday sacrifices

Beyond that period, Odzaklievska also worked while living in Sweden — as a nanny and in a factory where she straightened cans — showing a willingness to take any honest job to provide for her family.

Her most demanding personal challenge has been care for her grandson Luka, diagnosed with autism at age five. For years she placed his needs above her own career, staying closely involved in his upbringing and care. Because of his needs and age, the family decided to place him in a residential center for people with developmental disabilities in Stamnica, near Petrovac na Mlavi.

Odzaklievska appealed to authorities for more resources at the institution: "There is an excellent team looking after him there, but unfortunately a small one. There are about 300 people with developmental disabilities there. Responsibility must not fall on so few employees. I really appeal to those who make decisions to help that home and provide conditions to employ more people, so those children have all the necessary care, nutrition and healthcare." Despite the hardships, she celebrates small advances: "My grandson is slowly starting here and there to speak, to react to the situation around him. It is wonderful to see how children grow. I am very grateful to my daughters who bore children. Those pure, young souls and their eyes when they look at you – those are the most beautiful moments in life."

Photo: press material from the event