College education for 10 talented students in BiH

BOSANA FOUNDATION

Scholarship and Personal Development Program

Quarterly Report

April- June 2018

Executive Summary:

We have very exciting news to report for this quarter because it has been a very successful quarter for many reasons. First, Bosana 9th Annual Benefit was the most successful event for our organization. Bosana volunteers and supporters, like every year, have made this event possible and have helped us collect close to $80,000. This is almost double from what we have made during our last event and thanks to this success, we cannot wait to add new students to our growing family. This year, two Bosana students attended the event and were able to share their stories of how much this Foundation is doing to make their education possible. This was certainly the most notable part of the benefit. Our student have also completed most of their classes and the exams season is in full swing. We already have a few 2018 graduates and the number should only grow in the next quarter.

Students and Program Update:

Aside from a number of student graduates this quarter, our students also had few professional opportunities to help them advance personally and professionally. Two of our students presented their research papers at the Bosnian-Herzegovinian American Academy of Arts and Sciences conference. This annual conference brings together experts from the region and all over the world, facilitating networking and learning so for our students this was a great opportunity to meet individuals in their field and connect with them professionally. The feedback they received was only positive and each of the received direct contact with experts to offered to be their mentors and help them further develop their research. Amila presented at ISAME 2018 on Advances in Mechanical Engineering while Anela presented on her work about Multiple myeloma.  

Two Bosana students who are future mechanical and electrical engineers also had a chance to visit @APLab in Sarajevo. The visit was organized for Bosana students to show them opportunities in IT sector, to learn about new technologies and challenges, as well as three-month educational programming course that if the students complete successfully, they would be offered jobs in the company. This is a great opportunity for our graduating students to have something to look forward to that could also result in obtaining an employment.

Finally, one of our students was also accepted into the Coca-Cola Program that lasts 10 weeks where students are exposed to various trainings, professional development opportunities, and if they perform well, they are offered full time employment. This informal partnership with Coca-Cola that we have established to give such opportunities to our students is a great way for our students to gain experience and new opportunities.

Highlights of the quarter:

• Amila B. completed her master’s degree in June. She successfully defended her master’s thesis, which was selected among top five best theses at her university. Amila received an acclamation from the Dean for her outstanding academic work. She also got an internship for 6 months which she started July 1^st that if completed successfully will turn into a full time employment.

• Jasmine F. graduated at the beginning of June and obtained a BA in Turkish Language and Literature.

• Emina P. completed her B.A. law degree. She is looking for an internship opportunity or to possibly start her MA. degree.

• University of Vermont donated 6 laptops to our students who did not have laptops but needed them for use at the university. To date, this is the largest donation we have received and its all thanks to one of our donors who saw a post that another donor donated her laptop.   This is a perfect example how good inspires more good.

Students’ Humanitarian Project:

Bosana students are still setting aside part of their monthly scholarship for their own humanitarian projects.

During this quarter, they have agreed to help one student from Sanski Most, who is trying to get a space for youth organization so young people from her town would have a place of their own to collaborate on projects to improve their local community, as well as a place to gather for cultural, educational or fun activities. The first phase of the project would be an organization and registration of the NGO, which is already in process but requires additional funding. The second phase is a clean up, repainting and preparing the outside area of the space for utilization. They would like to clean and pain the yard, provide some seating, basketball area etc. Bosana students would like to support this project, provide financial support for the second phase – money for the paint, cleaning supplies to make it a usable space. They will sign a contract and follow the progress, hoping to provide some long-term solutions for the youth in this town.

Conclusion:

Overall, this was a very successful quarter because we managed to raise the most funds with our Annual Benefit to date, our students received some great professional development opportunities and we have a large number of students who are preparing to graduate this year. So, it has been a very successful quarter that will also be remembered as a very successful school year.

BOSANA FOUNDATION

Scholarship and Personal Development Program

Quarterly Report

January-March 2018

Executive Summary:

The first quarter of 2018 was a very dynamic and successful quarter for Bosana students. They have completed final exams from the fall semester and have also started with their spring semester. In February, Bosana Advisory Committee, which formed in November by its 7 core members, has also organized Bosana Volunteer Appreciation party for all our volunteers who have helped make our annual events successful. The same committee is also helping us to organize our 9^th annual benefit. With the new funds that we hope to raise, we will accept a new group of students into our scholarship program for fall 2018.

Students and Program Update:

This first quarter of the year, especially the month of January, is usually a very busy period for our students. As mentioned, this is the period when they usually have their first round of final exams and after a little break; they have also started attending classes for the spring semester.

Overall, this was a successful exam season. Students have passed their exams with flying colors. For those that this is the final semester before finishing their B.A. degrees, they have already completed their coursework and will be working on internship or final projects in the next semester.

Highlights of the quarter:

• Selma K. received Dean’s award for the best student at her university in Mostar, four years in a row. She was recognized with an Outstanding Student Award as the best student out of 1,200 of her fellow peers. This is a great honor for our student and all the people who have supported her on this journey.

• Armin S. has completed all his exams and with that he has finished his university with a medical degree. Currently, he is completing his hospital rotation at the Clinical Center in Tuzla. He is also Bosana’s first student of medicine to complete his coursework. This is an amazing milestone for him as well as for Bosana. We are so proud of all that he has achieved.

• Amar T. has commendably completed his semester abroad through ERASMUS program in Maribor, Slovenia. However, his return to Banjaluka where he is studying was very short as he will start his two month research project, all part of his university degree, in April in Montenegro.

• Ahmedina, who is one of our most active students in her community also organized a students’ workshop at the University in Zenica and she is also responsible for creating a video with her peers about “Pink Shirt Day” – raising awareness for an Anti-Bullying Day. This is a day where communities across the world wear pink shirts to symbolize a stand against bullying.

• Our medical student Selena T. studying in Foca, received a long awaited and needed laptop generously donated by one of our Bosana supporters.

Bosana Students’ “Students for Humanity Project Update

Each month, our students’ set aside each a symbolic 2BAM and Bosana to support their efforts also matches it 2:1. Last year, they managed to collect 1,712BAM (close to $1,000 dollars). In October, hearing a story from one of our students about an exceptional 4^th year medical student who lost both parents in a matter of 10 days, were so shaken by the news that they decided to donate all of the funds they raised to make sure this student stays in school. Technically, they themselves gave a scholarship to this deserving student and she is now successfully completing her 4th year.

In February, they heard about an elementary school student who has hearing problems and who risked having to drop out of school because his parents could not afford to send him to school. They live in a rural area of Maglaj and this student has to attend school in the city of Tuzla. A local newspaper covered the story and one of our students shared it with the group. They all agreed to cover two months of his housing with the funds they raised thus far so this little boy can continue his education.

Our student in Banjaluka suggested their third humanitarian project because through an organization where she completes her Bosana’s required volunteer work, she learned about two elementary school children living with their very ill father in dreadful circumstances. Children have lost their mother and their father is not able to work due to his illness. The children were collecting iron to earn some money for food; they slept in a car, because they had no home. Our student collected money as well as clothes and shoes, from her family members, acquaintances and Bosana students. She was able to collect enough money to buy food, hygienic products, clothes and shoes. This will not solve all the problems these kids are facing, but it will at least help them with their current basic needs.

We are so proud of our students’ philanthropic efforts.

Bosana Volunteer Appreciation Party, Irvine, California, February 6^th, 2018

Bosana Foundation relies heavily on our annual benefits to raise the necessary funds to finance educational opportunities for our students. We have about 50 volunteers in SoCal and they are directly responsible for our continuous success. By now, over the course of almost nine years, more than 200 volunteers have donated their time for annual and/or holiday events. Thanks to Maja Karabeg, our loyal donor and sponsor, who now donated space, food and drinks, we were able to organize our Volunteer Appreciation party to thank all the volunteers that have been donating their time to make our events successful.

We would like to, once again, express our gratitude for all the volunteers that are part of Bosana’s mission.

Additional updates:

• The University of Vermont has generously donated six laptops to our Bosana students. This was made possible by one of our loyal supporters who suggested Bosana Foundation for this donation. These laptops will help six of our students who do not have their own laptops prepare for exams and be able to complete their coursework.
• GlobalGiving, a non-profit organization based in the United States that provides a global crowd-funding platform for grassroots charitable projects has voted Bosana TOP ranked and TOP vetted organization among 19,000 others who operate in 170 countries.   This will help us get better visibility, access to new donors and fundraising opportunities from donors who otherwise would not know about Bosana.
• In March, Authority Partners, IT solutions provider based in the U.S. and BiH, and one of Bosana’s most loyal supporters and sponsors have selected our President as their first Community Hero for her work in nonprofit sector in BIH. We are excited about this recognition because it strengthens further our partnership with Authority Partners.