Ongoing AfterSchool Tutoring for 70 orphans in BIH

Project location: Orphanage in Zenica

Period: January- March 2015

Beneficiaries: 6 to 17 years old living in Zenica orphanage

Volunteers/teachers: 11

Activities performed during this quarter:

1)     Creative workshops

In the past quarter, the high school students had an exhibition of all products that they made during our workshops. Because there was so much interest and creativity shown among the beneficiaries, we decided to continue this activities because it brought beneficiaries regularly to classroom, their behavior improved and we noticed their creativity improve. We were also happy to see that the workshop attracted more boys each time. The results noticed with this workshop showed that the beneficiaries improved their work, and with help of their instructors they now make perfect jewelry boxes, plates, boards and vases. One of beneficiaries made such a lovely box for her mother’s birthday. Another girl who was a rebel and refused to cooperate with anyone is now one of the most active beneficiaries in these creative workshops. She has made many boxes, drawings with different symbols (flowers, stars, hearts, etc). She is really trying hard and all the caretakers have noticed her improvement in behavior and towards school. Most importantly, she is no longer aggressive. Several girls who will soon graduate from high school want to continue with this workshop because they realized that they can earn some money which will help them a lot when they leave orphanage. Some of these beautiful creations will also be sold at the Bosana Annual Benefit in Los Angeles on May 30^th. This is a way for the children to show donors the beautiful creations they made, but also made additional income.

2)     BIH Independence Day

This quarter, we also wanted to commemorate and teach the beneficiaries about the BIH Independence Day, which is on March 1^st. In order to inform the beneficiaries about the statehood day of our country we planned and successfully organized a party for them. We invited additional volunteers to help us organize fun and educational games and to manage the party. We also bought some snacks, candies and juices, as well as props to help us teach the beneficiaries interesting facts about their country and this day. There were about 30 beneficiaries of different ages waiting for us. They were so happy and excited to see us bringing something for them.  As part of their lesson, we handed papers and colors and asked beneficiaries to draw something that they felt represented and showed their love and appreciation towards their country. We gave them about 15 minutes and said that 3 best papers will be awarded. After they finished, we collected their papers and to complete the fun party, we also played karaoke. We were delighted by beneficiaries’ creativity and selecting the best three was very hard. Beneficiaries who were awarded were beneficiaries from 6th grade, high school, and 1^st grade.

3)     A visit to American corner

To keep beneficiaries creativity up and to make sure that they behave, we always promise them that we will take them to certain places if they actively participate and keep on studying. Since they were good this semester, we decided to organize some games and activities together with the director of city’s library. First, the director showed us all the rooms and introduced benefits of visiting place like these, as reading books. We stayed at the American corner for about two hours where the beneficiaries had a great time using computers and reading books. There were also some newspapers which teenagers liked and they were so happy to get a chance to spend some free time here. Later on, the director of the library brought us some snacks and juices and gave some books to the beneficiaries. Visits like these are very beneficial to the participants because it gets them out of the orphanage, builds their interest in books and appreciation for various cultures, literatures, etc.

4)     A visit to Input centre

As part of the afterschool program, we also organized a short-term/intensive course of English language calling it a “Week of English” with a teacher from the “Input Centre”, a co-partner and collaborator of Bosana on this Afterschool program. We brought 11 beneficiaries who were between 10 and 18 years old willing to learn to speak English. They had a great time with the teacher while meeting every day for one week (8^th-13^th March). The course included video materials, flash cards, body language lessons and games. Beneficiaries enjoyed the class and for most of them their English drastically improved, mainly getting them rid of the fear of speaking a different language.

5)     A visit to Shopping centre

As mentioned, we like to take the beneficiaries out of the orphanage so not all of their classes are in the same room. Diversity breeds creativity and interest and so we try our best to take them outside. We promised the beneficiaries if they are well behaved that we will take them to a nearby shopping center that all the beneficiaries really like because it’s the most popular meeting place in the city. We treated the selected beneficiaries to a beverage in a coffee shop where we carried conversations about their life activities and plans. Beneficiaries were very curious about different life topics so we talked about going out, not staying too late, the disadvantages of smoking and drink and bad habits in general. We also talked to them about being careful about meeting new people. They really enjoyed this alot.

6)     Ongoing afterschool activities in the orphanage three times a week

This is our ongoing program that we give beneficiaries continuously in the orphanage helping them with their homework, exams and any other issues that they have in school. This quarter there were no problems to report with beneficiaries and their school. Since it’s the beginning of the new semester, there were no important exams, which is why this quarter we focused mainly on fun activities.

Results accomplished during this quarter

• Beneficiaries had organized extracurricular activities outside of the orphanage: they visited the American corner, Input Centre and Shopping Centre.
• Beneficiaries learned how to make different drawings using decoupage techniques, jewelry boxes, pencil holders and colorful cutting boards. They also read books and further learned to speak English.

Many Beneficiaries who attend our workshops also started asking questions about college and life after orphanage. Because many of them plan to enroll in college we will dedicate one class towards speaking to the beneficiaries what its like to go to college, how to apply and to help them best chose the right college for them. We feel honored that many of these beneficiaries would not think of college or have the grades to pursue their dreams if it was not for this afterschool program that prepared them to even start thinking about their