College education for 10 talented students in BiH

BOSANA FOUNDATION

Scholarship and Personal Development Program

Quarterly Report

January- March 2016

Executive Summary:

First quarter of the year is always a busy time for our students. In January and February most of them have final exams scheduled. It is the end of fall semester; exam season is in full swing and also beginning of new spring semester. At the end of January Bosana supporters from Phoenix, Arizona have successfully organized a benefit gala on behalf of Bosana Foundation. Gala titled Bosana Changing Lives was able to fundraise over $30,000 US dollars.

Concluding this quarter, volunteer staff has started preparing for our main event of the year. Bosana Annual Benefit will take place in Los Angeles on April 16.

Students and Program Update:

In our last report we mention how the last quarter of the year is generally slow for our students. That was the time for our students to relax a bit and start preparing for exam season, because the first quarter brings with it a very hectic exam schedule. The exam schedules are not the same for all students, some start in January others in February but by the end of the quarter, most of our students have taken their exams. Our students worked really hard preparing for their exams and their results are showing this commitment. More than half of our students have passed all their exams and are ready for the second semester. Some were not able to pass all scheduled exams; however, they will have a chance to retake them in April. All in all, we are very happy with the results and cannot wait for the end of this academic year when we will have more students’ graduate college.

Highlights of the quarter:

• One of our Professional Development students, Esma K. graduated this March. Esma has applied for graduate program in Sweden and was accepted. At the end of this year new chapter of her life will start and we wish her all the luck.

• Anes H. Bosana graduate of mechanical engineering has officially graduated from Royal Air Force College Cranwell (RAF Cranwell). He was one of the first two cadets from our country that was privileged to attend this college and has officially been offered a position in the BIH Army.

• Two Bosana students who are studying genetics at the University in Sarajevo Anela Zorlak are part part of five teams that won support to realize projects in the next six months as part of the “Quarry Life Award”. This competition was held in over twenty (20) countries and over 450 candidates submitted their projects. This group of students, that prepared the project without the support of their professors, was able to be in the first five (5) in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the next six (6) months they will spend time in quarries to develop their projects and in September 2016 they will have to submit their reports. At that point, selection committee will chose the top three (3) projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina and they will get monetary rewards. In December of 2016 international selection committee will chose the top three projects. Monetary rewards for international winners will be between 10,000 and 30,000 Euros.

• Adnan H. our student of mechanical engineers in Bihac decided to temporarily change organizations where he was volunteering in order to help one local family build a home. The family was able to raise funds for materials but they still needed people to donate their time and build their home. Adnan spent two months helping the main electrician set up electricity wires, first into the foundation of the house; than once the walls were put up he worked on setting up complete electrical installation in the entire house.  

Bosana students for Humanity:

Bosana students continue to help their local communities every month. Every month they give portion of their scholarship and Bosana matches the amount so they can help families in need. Each month students choose families in different cities. In this quarter students did their projects in Gorazde, Sarajevo and Banja Luka.

In January students decided to help children with Down syndrome in Gorazde. They have used half the funds to buy classroom material for children in one classroom and the other half for family of one of these children. Bosana students from Gorazde visited the children, bought the classroom material when they realized how much time they spent in these classrooms and how limited their supplies were.

In February, four Bosana students studying in Sarajevo chose to help one family that lives in Kiseljak. This is a family with nine children and both parents are unemployed. This family lives under terrible housing situation and they are surviving by selling firewood. The whole family is sleeping in one room and they said that food and clothes for the children is something they need the most. Students used their funds for this month to buy mostly food for this family.

In March, our student from Bijeljina now studying in Banjaluka used the funds for this month to help two different families that live on the outskirts of Banja Luka. Children from these families are using services of the organization where our student volunteers, so she already knew that these families are in desperate need of help. One of these families was an unemployed single mom with one child living on minimum help she gets from the state. The other family had three minors living with their grandmother with minimum monthly income from social services. Our student bought food and hygiene products for both of these families.

Challenges:

This quarter did not present any challenges. Our students were fulfilling their obligations accordingly; on the other hand, this quarter was more challenging for our students. It is the time of final exams; students were studying hard and taking their exams as scheduled. The exam season, even though demanding, was very successful for our students. They reported good grades and most of them are, at this time, in very good academic standing.

Donor driven update worth mentioning:

PHOENIX, AZ

Bosana supporters from Phoenix, Arizona organized the “Bosana Changing Lives” Gala. The event was a great success; supporters that were part of planning committee, volunteers and attendees were more than happy with the outcome. Nebuloza band was in charge of entertainment and former Bosana student Selma Selman gave one of the most inspiring and moving performances that night. Between ticket sales, dinners and silent auction items, this event raised little over $30,000, which will give nine (9) new scholarships to the deserving youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

ATLANTA, GA

One of Bosana Board members organized a holiday party at his home and asked his family and friends to donate to Bosana foundation instead of bringing gifts. This simple gesture and idea successfully raised nearly $15,000 for the Bosana Foundation. This is an example of a small yet very creative effort that will make a huge difference for the youth in BIH.