The rubric of active youth is the space through which we present the most valuable scholarship holders of our Foundation every month. These 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, 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, in the best possible way. 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 Amina Bukvarević.
Amina Bukvarević is from Kalesija and is a student of the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Health Studies, Institute of Medical Laboratory Diagnostics at the University of Tuzla. She is currently in her second year of studies. She has been a scholarship holder of the Hastor Foundation since 2012. She tries to be active and help within the limits of her abilities wherever she can. In addition to the Hastor Foundation, Amina also volunteers in the Association „Woman, Mother, Sister“ and the Association „Smile of Hope“.
As a person who loves children very much and looks forward to spending time with them, our Amina enjoys volunteering with younger scholarship holders and children with developmental disabilities. Every sincere smile of a child cheers her up and makes her happy. She believes that they are the most sincere beings in the world who give pure love without asking for anything in return. They don’t need much for happiness, they look for it in simple and small things. Furthermore, the most important lessons in life can be learned from children. Children are the best proof for us adults that we don’t always have to be ready to move forward. Fearlessness towards the unknown, enjoying every moment of life, endless imagination, free spirit and love for everything the eye can see are just some of the lessons we all have to learn from children.
In addition to volunteering, reading books whose subject matter is based on psychology fulfills her a lot. She believes that psychology has a lot of useful things to offer.
Amina very successfully balances all of the above with regular walks with her childhood friends and points out that she sees enormous importance in socializing and communicating with dear people and believes that social networks cannot replace the charm of live conversations.
Every change starts and ends with us. It is certainly young people who initiate changes in society, and it is very important to have expanded views on the events around us. Having various skills will help us change what we consider wrong.
When Amina became a scholarship holder of the Hastor Foundation, she was happy because she received financial aid for her education, not realizing how emotionally attached she would be to everything the Foundation is. She received moral support, wind in her sails and motivation for everything she does in life. She became more confident in herself and more determined in achieving her goals. She started building new skills, and she started actively volunteering and helping others.
The Hastor Foundation made me aware that I have one life given to me. In that life, I have many opportunities to help, do good and influence useful and positive changes in society. I must not miss those opportunities because each of us can contribute to creating a better future. The Hastor Foundation taught me that life is not valuable if we do not share, give away, help and give, and so I thank it for that.
My message to scholarship holders is that they should invest in their knowledge and education, be productive, help others around them, build new skills and thus be of use to themselves, the local community and society as a whole.
Scholarship holders like Amina regularly remind us of the beauty of volunteering. It is easier for each of us to take that first step towards activity in the local community after seeing the positive examples, of which there are many within the community of hardworking people of the Hastor Foundation.
Prepared by: Nedžma Latić
Translated by: Fadil Merdić
