Anisa Karić was born on November 18, 1998, in Sarajevo. She lives in Hrasnica where she went to the “Četvrta osnovna škola” primary school. She graduated high school at the “Četvrta gimnazija Ilidža”. She’s currently a third-year student of the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Sarajevo, and she’s been a Hastor Foundation scholar for ten years already. Besides spending time with her family, she spends her free time drawing and riding a bicycle.

She points out that her first volunteering activities started during her primary school days. She then fell in love with the Foundation and felt the warmth it offers to all scholarship holders. Anisa was mentored throughout this long period as a proud member, and she’s now, during her college days, a mentor to a group of primary school students herself.

She singles out that, when it comes to volunteering activities, it’s crucial to show the beauty, but also the responsibility behind this process. She says that her friends describe her in the best way as highly communicative, ambitious, and perseverant. She does not acknowledge the fear of failure. Anisa is known for her activism and volunteering. When we asked her how she organizes her volunteering, she told us with great enthusiasm:

Volunteering was always dynamic and interesting, and it was always spent doing workshops, quizzes, or visits to more significant locations nearby. Whenever I saw the smile on the faces of primary school students, rolled-up sleeves as they paint and make clay figurines, or the interest in their eyes as we play quizzes and collect points, I’d knew I did the right thing.

It’s crucial to point out the fact that volunteering activities in the Hastor Foundation are still unwinding in full capacity during the pandemic, thanks to the commitment of our collective made up of creative, responsible, and ready-to-act scholarship holders. Our student mentors hold volunteering meetings each month with the same quality as before and committing to each student equally using various platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Duo, BigBlueButton, and similar.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was necessary to adjust all activities according to the new circumstances, and volunteering was no exception. Anisa tells us that her approach also had to change and adjust, but she didn’t give up. Due to the circumstances, volunteering in the Hastor Foundation went on via various online platforms. Because of that, the number of tasks for the team in charge of the Foundation’s social media networks increased, and Anisa was assigned to this new task where she made new friends.

From volunteering, each scholar gains experience through some of the teams, and Anisa was lucky to gain experience in two different teams:

Thanks to volunteering on the field and in the social media network team, I understood and felt the benefits brought by both types of volunteering because both of them are responsible for the person I am today. Through volunteering with primary school students, I myself became more creative, more communicative, and more patient. Through volunteering in the social network tea, I learned many new things related to various areas of business, and life in general, which means you learn and get to know something new each day. I got the know the importance of teamwork, as well.

Members of the Foundation, besides volunteering, have a chance of gaining various experiences in the form of various competitions. Anisa has participated in one such competition, and she says that the “World Scholar’s Cup” competition meant a step forward for her or an exit out of her comfort zone. By qualifying to the final of the competition, Anisa and her team have shown that all obstacles on the path to success can be overcome if you work hard on accomplishing your goals.

Foundation is an indispensable part of Anisa’s life, and she says that, through volunteering, she learned to offer a helping hand to anyone in trouble. She thinks that the Foundation became immeasurable support in her life. In the end, she sent a message to all scholars:

Never give up on your dreams and goals. Do what you love bravely and with affection, and don’t allow the obstacles on the path to success to discourage you. My message is to always keep together and accept each other the way we are because we are all different and special. In that manner, we can all progress together. Let’s be what the Hastor Foundation teaches us to be – the initiators of positive changes in our society.

Fatima Gazić