Education Bosnia and Herzegovina Project #12774

College education for 10 talented students in BiH

by Bosana Foundation

Project Report | Apr 8, 2015
Quarterly Report, January - March 2015

By Ajlana Osmanagic | Program Director

Bosana Student awards

BOSANA FOUNDATION

Scholarship and Personal Development Program

Quarterly Report

January-March 2015

Executive Summary:

Beginning of the new calendar year for students means the end of the fall semester and first exam season. Overall our students have worked really hard to reach their academic goals and majority succeeded. Our students were productive in other sectors as well. To reward our students and give them a little break from studying, but also to make sure that our students know each other, develop some new team building and personal skills, Bosana organized once again the Team Building weekend. This time students visited Jajce and learned about the history of this town.

Students and Program Update:

Final exams for fall semester were scheduled during the month of January and February, and all forty-six (46) Bosana students had to prepare to take the exams. It is extremely important to show good results in this quarter because it will set the standard for the second semester. If they do not pass all of their exams, they can retake them over the summer but that means no summer break and they also risk not passing them and so redoing the whole year just for those few classes. Several students were not so successful in this exams season, which means that they will have to work twice as hard after the second semester to be able to advance to the following year. Students who were successful passing exams now, will have only second semester exams to worry about, the other group will have to prepare exams for both semesters at the same time.

If we are looking at a group success, this was a very good semester. We have nineteen students that have either passed all exams or have only one left from this exam season. Majority of them have two exams left and will have an additional opportunity to take them in April, while only few have more than two.

The best and most exciting news of this quarter is the students’ gathering for Bosana Team Building that took place in Jajce. Students visited historic sites in this town and further strengthen their own and team skills through fun and interactive games. Previous gatherings included hiking, rafting and testing limits through team building. This gathering was more focused on students learning about the country they are living in and spending quality time together so they can get to know each other. They have visited catacombs, historically important monuments, museum and famous 17 meter tall waterfall. We have noticed that after each gathering new friendships are forged and students are more and more excited to attend the next one. With each new gathering we see how much it is important for the students to meet each other and to see different parts of their country.

The last evening of the gathering is always reserved for awards and recognitions for those students that exuded the most effort during the gathering and also those that did the best during the first part of the school year (not just grades, but also their volunteering hours, assisting Bosana, responding on time, etc). Students also had a chance to vote for their favorite peers and these students were rewarded with 50BAM ($35) cash. The students chose amongst themselves the following students:

Brankica D. – “Bosana’s newest discovery Award”– This was her first time attending these Bosana gatherings so she met most of the students for the first time. She was very friendly, talkative and polite with everyone.
Armin S. – “Entertainment Award”, this student was the one that tried the hardest to entertain everyone, to make everyone feel comfortable and to make the gathering the best possible.
Edin S. – “Bosana’s Ambasador Award” – students chose this student as someone they feel best represents Bosana, as a role model.
Semir G. – “Best Friend Award”- this student made the most effort to be friends with everyone, make connections, as well as tried to help and motivate his fellow peers.

Bosana also recognized 6 students with our first ever awards for the most outstanding students that were given during our student gathering. We decided to create three categories of awards that we will give out each year to our most deserving students. Those are Bosana Star Award (students that help Bosana staff, that help promote the organization and make our work easier, as well as help us lower the costs by volunteering their time), Bosana Survival Award ( award given to students who deal with additional hardship but despite all of their problems, they continue to do their best, pass their classes and be good peers to everyone else), Bosana Humanitarian Award (award given to students who our good citizens, help in their communities and have developed the sense that they too have to help others).

Ivana N. – (Bosana Humanitarian Award), Esmeralda A. – (Bosana Survival Award), Denis S. – (Bosana Star Award), Armin S. – (Bosana Humanitarian Award), Anes H. – (Bosana Survival Award), Amir B. – (Bosana Star Award)

Highlights of the quarter:

Bosana Foundation received an invitation to the Education and Job Fair in Banjaluka- “Gledaj od Cega Ces Zivjeti”. This fair was organized with the support of the EU Special Representative’s Office and the Norwegian Embassy. The purpose of the Fair was to teach participants how to identify and develop their own talents, find new opportunities, create networks. Presenters were grouped in three different categories: business, business agents and education. Three of our students attending university in the city of Banja Luka represented Bosana Foundation at the Fair. They answered questions about scholarship and gave out pamphlets. Organizers claimed that the fair was visited even more than they expected and our students reported that their booth was one of the most visited at the fair. There were many prospective students and parents that wanted to know more about the scholarship. Jovana, Milena and Svjetlana believe that this year we will have many applicants from Banja Luka and surrounding area.

We are extremely proud of our student Selma for being honored by her college with the Dean Award as the best student of the year (sophomore/2nd year) based on her excellent grade point average. Selma’s major is radiology at the University of Mostar. Selma is one of the examples why this scholarship is so important. There are so many young intelligent people that can do wonders only if they are given a chance and Selma wouldn’t have that chance without this scholarship.

Our students decided to organize their own humanitarian project to donate from their scholarship fund each month between themselves and to donate to a different cause. Last year they collected clothes and other items for a single mother and her daughter. After that fundraiser one of the students suggested giving each month 2KM from their scholarship and then chose a city where they will give that money. First city was Tuzla. Students donated 77KM to the fund of one very sick girl who needs an expensive surgery and her parents cannot afford to send her to Vienna, Austria for the surgery. They have collected the money from the whole group, created criteria and agreed on a specific cause. Students also sent detailed reports to Bosana staff about their donation to justify their expenditure.

The importance of volunteering is emphasized often to our students. In order to keep their scholarship they have to volunteer 10 hours per month and the experience they gain through volunteer work should also help them in their job search. While some students complete their minimum hours, others try to go the extra mile. Ildijana is one of those students, and she was recognized for her volunteer work by two different organizations.

Challenges:

The biggest challenge of this quarter was related to final exams. While majority of our students study whole semester to take these exams, there are always few that need that extra help or extra push to finish their academic obligations. Currently we do not have any students that anticipate any issues with the exams in September, however, there are few that have not been successful in this exams season which means they will have twice as much work to do in September. We are concerned that they might not be able to pass all these exams in order to transition to the next year, and we will keep a close eye on their progress during the spring semester. Personal problems often affect student’s ability to focus and study, but we try to encourage their academic work. Tutoring is one of helping students pass their exams, and we keep reminding them to take that opportunity whenever they need it. However, its important to state that there is only a handful of these students that might have a problem with their exams and our focus in the coming months will be on these students to make sure they do well this semester.

Student with Deans Award as best student

Job Fair in Banjaluka

Bosana Team Building, Jajce

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Jan 14, 2015
Quarterly Report October - December 2014

By Ajlana Osmanagic | Program Director

Students employed part time

BOSANA FOUNDATION

Scholarship and Personal Development Program

Quarterly Report

October – December 2014

Executive Summary:

Last quarter of the calendar year was not really hectic for our students as the previous one. At the end of the previous quarter we have welcomed 14 new students so our focus was geared towards helping them adjust to the university life and Bosana scholarship requirements. We wanted to help them connect with the rest of the group in order for them to feel like they are part of our big family. Most of the new students were just starting college and they were trying to embrace their new obligations, adapt to the new environment and a new city. At the end of the quarter students had midterms and are still awaiting their results. For most part, the results that we know thus far are positive and encouraging that the students will not have a problem to successfully complete this semester. The month of December and January are set out for exams that will take place at the end of January and beginning of February.

Students and Program Update:

The beginning of the new academic year can be challenging for the new students but for some current students as well. Students that are new need some time to adapt, settle into the new city, find new friends and adjust to the new educational structure. Students that have completed one or two years in college are now trying to fulfil all requirements while getting exposed to new course material. For some students, they still have to pass classes from previous semester or a year so this can be an issue if too many classes add up.

Overall, this has been a quiet semester. It takes couple of months of going through course material before midterms happen and they have started for most of our students in December, but majority of them are still waiting on results. It is important for students to get good grades on their midterms, subsequently that will help them once the time comes to take the final exams. Some courses can be passed just by passing all midterms or it might at least help them get higher grades. We are constantly encouraging our students to be consistent, to study regularly and get good grades on their midterms so there is less stress during the final exam season. In the following quarter we will have concrete information about their academic success in this semester. Currently, most of our students are positive and believe that there should be no issues with their academic results.

Highlights of the quarter:

Two of our students have been hired by Rukom Concept Store on part-time basis during the holiday season at the Sarajevo Holiday Market. This was a great opportunity for our students to gain some experience plus it was an opportunity to earn extra money for their everyday needs.

One of our students from Trebinje proposed a humanitarian action because she has heard about a mother and a daughter that are barely surviving, have poor living conditions, and are in need of basic needs. She asked the rest of the students to gather clothes and other necessities in order to help this family. The project was very well received with the rest of the group. They all joined and collected what they could, some sent part of their scholarship directly to this family bank account. They also sent clothes and school supplies to Tuzla where some of our students live to gather all the donations and take them directly to the family. Students then submitted a report to describe the whole process and what they have learned.

This was a very noble notion from our students who themselves have very little to share. They decide to give as much they can and help a family in need. What is even more noteworthy is the fact that students realized that they were happy to be able to help someone; so far they have been on the receiving end of the humanitarian aid.

We are so proud that our students are giving back to the community. This is the ultimate goal for us, to continue the circle of giving to inspire our students to give back to their community and inspire other members of community to do so. They have learned that it is not important how much you can give but the fact that you want to help people in need and that it is coming from the goodness of one’s heart. The amount of that help is irrelevant.

After this project was completed and they have seen how successful it was even with limited donations from them, they decided to find a way to do similar projects every month in different cities. Right now they are trying to form groups and team leaders in order to implement this idea.

We are confident that our students will continue with these little projects that will bring happiness to many other little girls.

Challenges:

This quarter did not have any major challenges. We are trying to stay on top of our student’s needs. We are offering tutoring to students that might need additional help with the midterm exams. In the next quarter they will have to be ready for final exams for the fall semester and we want to make sure they have all the help that we can offer.

students with collected donations

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Oct 13, 2014
Quarterly Report July - September 2014

By Ajlana Osmanagic | Program Director

Red Carpet at the Sarajevo Film Festival

BOSANA FOUNDATION

Scholarship and Personal Development Program

Quarterly Report

July – September 2014

Executive Summary:

This quarter is always the most challenging for the students and staff of Bosana Foundation because it is the time of final exams, selection of new students and time when it is decided who will transition to the next academic year. It is very stressful time of the year for our students but they also get to relax at home for month or so if they finish their studies on time. The highlight of this quarter is certainly our bi-annual Bosana Team building gathering. Our students have learned so much more about their peers, the Foundation and about themselves in these couple of days spent in nature.

Students and Program Update:

At the end of academic 2013/2014 year we had 38 students that also included our six students in the Professional Development Program. They have all taken their exams and gave their best efforts to pass them. We are proud to say that majority managed to pass required exams and transition to next year. Unfortunately we have one student that was on probation for the past year and he did not meet his requirements to transition into the second year therefore he permanently lost his scholarship. Another student has failed most of his critical exams and has decided to pause the coming year to determine if he wants to continue studying medicine. This student also had serious personal and family problems that affected his ability to focus on school. Its unfortunate, but after much consideration, both of these students have lost their scholarships.

Two students that were on probation last year were reinstated as regular students for the upcoming school year since they met their requirements and were eligible to transition to next year. However, on the other hand, we have also put two students that were selected as our freshmen scholarship recipients last year, on probation due to unfulfilled academic requirements. We are hoping that they will pass remaining exams in order to be in their second year in October 2015. It is important to mention here that all of our students get one year of “Grace period” where they can retake the year and have the scholarship suspended. However, this is only allowed for one year and they have to pass all exams on time for the remaining academic years.

We are also happy to report that we had 9 graduates this year but three of them did not manage to completely finish with all of their requirements as they have passed exams but still have to prepare and defend their final diploma paper.

NEW SCHOLARSHIPS:

During the month of July, we accepted new scholarship applications until August 15^th when the application process was closed and we had until the beginning of September to determine our new scholarship recipients. We are proud to say that this year we have received 186 applications, which is more than ever before. This show that the popularity of our scholarship is increasing and that students know more about our Foundation. Scholarship Selection Committee, comprised of five members nominated from five different organizations with whom we have worked closest this past year had a very difficult task to select only top 20 students that they would recommend for the scholarship. Once we received this list, those students that received three votes or more were considered for the final list. Considering this list and our current financial status, we decided to accept 14 new students into our program. We have to point out that this year we have transferred 4 students from our Professional Development program into our Scholarship program since their financial situation changed and they required financial assistance in order to continue. Our little family has grown significantly since our first group of eight was accepted in 2010 and we are excited to enter into a new year with almost 50 students in our Scholarship and Professional Development Program.

Our new students have expanded our coverage of new cities and new majors. In addition to others, we now have students also from Breza, Kladanj, Tesanj, Kljuc, Bijeljina, Srebrenica, Zepce, while their majors are varying from theology to international relations, agronomy, medicine, communications, mechanical engineering, etc.

In order to welcome new students and introduce them to the rest of our current students we have organized two-day Bosana Team Building activities. During these two days students got a chance to meet each other; new students were introduced to the current students and Bosana staff. We all hiked to Prokosko Lake, it was a long hike to the top but it was even more exciting to go back down mountain Vranica during unexpected rain. That is when every one of them has shown how much they are willing to help each other and collaborate to reach the finish line. During the hike up the mountain we have heard students complain, they wanted to give up and go back, but they all made it to the top and were happy that they were a part of this adventure.

The rest of the time was spent indoors due to the rain. Students have played different team building games, they were divided in groups and each group had a task to create few games. This part of the gathering was very dynamic and attention-grabbing. Bosana staff prepared rewards for students that were more engaged than others, that were more helpful and memorable in that way or were the life of the party. They chose a student that was most helpful and motivating during the challenging hikes, one student that was the most entertaining, best new students, and student that made the gathering more eventful.

The highlights of the students’ gathering were stories and introductions of both current and new students. They have shared their life stories, they have shared their hopes and dreams and their vision of Bosana foundation. It was rewarding to hear our students talk about what Bosana’s support means to them and it was an enormous incentive for the staff to continue their involvement, help this organization grow so we can accept more amazing students next year.

Group photo was taken at the end of the gathering and students who attended held names of the students that could not make it to the gathering to show that they are missed and that they are part of our big family.

Highlights of the quarter:

*Two of our students went to Dubrovnik with their Mentors for a long weekend. This was great opportunity for two of our students living in different cities to bond and also to spend quality time with their mentors from the United States.

*One of our graduating students completed here diploma from the Art Academy in Banjaluka with honors and got a full scholarship to go to Budapest and continue her studies. She also won an award where she will get to spend 6 weeks in New York. She will most likely also receive her own exhibition in London.

*One of our graduating students got an internship and went to Italy for a month after successfully defending her diploma paper and finishing college. Bosana paid for her trip that she was otherwise not able to attend.

*Two students were awarded with tickets to the opening of Sarajevo Film Festival that they attended with Bosana President.

*We found summer paid work for two of our students that helped them and their families.

*One of our graduating students was invited to go to a Youth Conference in Denmark in October, 2015.

*We have received the highest number of applications so far-186 scholarship applications.

*One of our students was sent to Spain for a month by the organization where she volunteers to cover the FIBA World Championship in Basketball organized in Spain.

*One of our graduating students was selected as this year’s Bosana student of the year and received $500 award. He has many plans for the future and is grateful to Bosana foundation for this award which will help him start his new life and job hunting.

Challenges:

Challenges we face in this quarter are usually related to final exams. We had few surprises because couple of students that did not meet their requirements were very good students this entire year. They have fulfilled their obligations towards Bosana and university but in the end they failed exams they were sure that they will pass. This is unfortunately something that’s very common in BIH university system that is out of the control of the students. A lot of politics and corruption play part in education and this affects even our students. Its is also unfortunate that we lost permanently two of our scholarship recipients because they did not fulfill their requirements with the second chance given. For all of our students and those that we come in contact, we remain committed to helping them other ways besides financial and so we will continue to provide moral support as long as they need us. Four of our graduating students will need help in the next semester, three are not completely finished with their final papers so we will help them during the time they need to finish them; one of them will have to repeat the final year due to one exam he was not able to complete on time.

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