The rubric of active youth is the space through which we present the most diligent scholarship holders of our Foundation every month. They are those who, day after day, strive to invest their time and energy in higher goals and thus improve themselves and their society. Just as RAM (working memory) is a part of a computer without which its work cannot even be imagined, so are our scholarship holders, who, in addition to volunteer activism within the Foundation, also work extremely diligently in their local communities and thus represent the Hastor Foundation and its mission, a part without which our work would certainly not be the same. RAM is a column dedicated to those who actively work every day to improve their society and improve themselves, therefore it is our pleasure to talk about one of them every month, and this time that honor went to Amra Pušina.
Amra Pušina has been a scholarship holder of the Hastor Foundation for a little over a year, but even in such a short time, she managed to show her virtues, which can primarily be observed in her selflessness and desire to help others. Our Amra comes from Ilijaš, a small place near Sarajevo, where she finished elementary school and high school. During her elementary and high school education, she achieved great success and participated in many sections and extracurricular activities. Her love for books and science, her desire to help and save human lives, and foster empathy and humanity are just some of the reasons why Amra decided to study medicine, and she is currently a fifth-year student at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sarajevo. Years of work, effort and dedication gave results, so she was the recipient of the Dean’s Pride award for being the best student of her generation four times in a row. Amra points out that the awards and recognitions she has won mean a lot to her, but that they are not a decisive factor in her success because she is a true lover of medicine, someone who enjoys learning, gaining knowledge, and every cognition fulfills her in a special way.
To the students of my volunteer group, I often repeat a quote that intrigued me even as an elementary school student: “Everybody is a genius, but if you judge a fish by the ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that is incapable.” A person is the most productive, the most creative, and the happiest when they are completely “immersed” in what they do. It is very important that we love what we do and do our best at that.
Amra often volunteers in the local community in the Association “Be My Friend” (“Budi mi drug”), which operates in her municipality and gathers people of different ages with difficulties in mental and physical development. “Be My Friend” is a story about the courage, struggle, and immense love of a mother who founded the Association in 2006 to help her son with Down syndrome, as well as other parents and children who are in a similar situation. Aware of the fact that in the society we live in, there are numerous prejudices and stereotypes and that people with developmental disabilities are often labeled and marginalized, Amra wanted to somehow help and contribute to raising awareness of the importance of paying attention to people with disabilities and their inclusion in social life. The association “Be My Friend” was a great opportunity for this, however, Amra states that her friends from the Association helped her more instead. After a few hours spent with them, she feels rested and is always filled with positive energy. Every time they remind her again and again how everything beautiful in life fits into the heart and our small deed, sometimes just a smile and a warm word, can mean the whole world to someone.
Being a scholarship recipient of the Hastor Foundation is a great honor and satisfaction. In addition to financial support, the Hastor Foundation creates a network of young, successful, hardworking, talented, and altruistic people who are there for each other, and promote knowledge, work, and perseverance, and only in this way can we build the future and initiate changes in the society in which we live. I made new friends, made many acquaintances, and I think that is the most valuable thing in the Hastor Foundation – the fact that in almost every city you have at least one person you know. For a year and a half, I have been mentoring younger scholarship holders who are students. The role of a mentor is exciting, but at the same time very responsible. I try to reach out to every student, support, motivate and inspire them to be better people. It makes me very happy when they complete the tasks at the end of our workshop and our meetings, and they often surprise me with their talents and skills. These are truly hard-working young people of whom I am immensely proud.
Amra is just one of many scholarship recipients of the Hastor Foundation whose mission in life is to help others. We hope that her example will serve as an inspiration to other young people to get started and improve other people’s lives with their activism because doing good gives good in return.
Prepared by: Amina Abaspahić
Translated by: Vedin Klovo
