College education for 10 talented students in BiH

BOSANA FOUNDATION

Scholarship and Personal Development Program

Quarterly Report

April-June 2016

Executive Summary:

Bosana students have been working hard during the past three months. They have attended lectures, completed midterms and at the end of the quarter started taking final exams. This year, we will have the largest graduating class since Bosana was registered. We are extremely proud of their accomplishments but also of our donors who made this all possible. It’s an accomplishment we can all be proud of. This year, we will also resume accepting new applications and we hope to accept five new scholarship recipients. The application process was opened July 1^st and we will be accepting applications until mid august. We expect to receive a large number of applications that our selection committee will then have a month to select top five candidates.

Students and Program Update:

Last quarter has been busy for our students: lectures, midterms and final exams. Beginning of this quarter was slightly easier since Bosana students were still taking their classes but towards the end of this quarterfinal exam season started and it is still in full swing. All of our students have started taking their final exams and results we have so far are very impressive. We have a number of students that have already passed all of their exams and will have a worry-free summer season.

Twelve (12) of our students are on good track to graduate by the beginning of next academic year. After the exam season is over graduating students have to prepare final project and schedule their defense in order to obtain the diploma. Students are hoping to schedule the defense date by the end of the summer, so those who wish to continue their studies, have enough time to apply for graduate programs. We will report more on final exam results and project defenses in our next report.

Highlights of the quarter:

• Bosana students presented our organization at the fair organized by the US Embassy in BIH where they invited all the organizations that they have supported through grants. The fair was called “Volontiraj I ti/Volunteer” and the goal was to inspire others to join our organizations and volunteer to help us advance our programs. At this fair hundreds of NGOs and volunteers presented their programs. Our students had their own booth and promotional material. Students talked about Bosana scholarship and what is expected of students that are part of Bosana Foundation.

• We all know that volunteer experience counts once job opportunities arise, but there is more satisfaction to volunteering during the time our students spend working on different projects. Our students volunteer at different organizations and often they work with children. Every day we see how that experience changes them and how much it helps the lives of children. Matea, one of our students, has been volunteering in orphanages, elementary schools, church camps and puppet shows for eight years. She said that now her greatest joy is to bring a smile to children’s faces at a local hospital. Matea also entered the European Voluntary Service (EVS) the Best Volunteer Ever competition.

• During the month of May, our student Amila represented Bosnia and Herzegovina in Budva, Montenegro at a “56. Masinijada”. Engineering Universities from former Yugoslavia are competing in seven fields of study. There were representatives from 16 universities, future mechanical engineers, from six (6) countries of the Balkan region. Amila won third place in area of “mechanics of fluids”.

• Matea and Selma, two of our students studying in Mostar have entered completion “Putujemo u Evropu/Lets travel to Europe”. Seniors from BiH universities, who have perfect grades and volunteer experience were eligible to apply. The idea was to give opportunities to students from Bosnia to spend a summer as students from other European countries would – traveling through Europe. Winners would get: monthly InterRail ticket (to use it on all European trains); visa so they can travel through different countries; pocket money and student ID. Both Selma and Matea won this competition and they will spend more than three weeks of August traveling through Europe.

• Elma, our Professional Development student, has completed her master’s program in mechanical engineering and defended her thesis on June 21^st, 2016.

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 Bosanaska Krupa, Tuzla and the month June fund was given to one of Bosana’s graduate students – Edin who is in need to rebuild his family home so he has a place to live. Edin is from Tuzla orphanage so securing a home for Edin was a priority for our students to help him realize his dream. Students have agreed to give funds from June, July and August to Edin. The house is old and devastated; and he needs to rebuild most of the interior (plumbing, walls, fixtures etc.). This kind of a project is very expensive and he cannot do that without financial help. This is the reason why the funds were given to Edin.

Our student Adnan used funds from month of April to help a family of 6 – mother and five children. When Adnan asked what is the most important thing they need, mother said to have health insurance. Portion of the money was used to pay yearly fee for children to be able to go to hospital and use their services. The rest of the money was used for food and hygiene products.

Our student Elma and Armin used funds from month of May to help a family of three. Grandfather and grandmother are taking care of their eight-year-old granddaughter. Her mother passed away from cancer and even though her father is alive and well, she never met him. Grandfather is unemployed and has difficulty moving due to back surgery. Grandmother is working odd jobs when she gets a chance but their income is barely keeping them above the water. When asked what they need most, they said that food and hygiene products are what they need. Elma and Armin purchased basic food items and some candies, since that was on little girls wish list.

Challenges:

This has been a very eventful quarter but we have no significant challenges to report.

Bosana 7^th Annual Event:

Another year, another successful event. Bosana 7^th Annual Benefit was held in Los Angeles on April 16^th. We had over 200 guests and with the help of sponsors and silent auction donors we were able to fundraise little over $40,000. This year, our musical line up was Mak Grgic and Damjan Krajacic who entertained our supporters during the main event and silent auction. Traditionally, our main event was followed by an after party and Nebuloza band donated their time and talent, as they did for every event so far.

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.