The Rubric of Active Youth is the place where we introduce every month the most hardworking scholarship holder of our dear Foundation. This small space of our newsletter is filled with big and meaningful stories of the ones that use their free time to do good in order to make a positive and beautiful change in their communities. RAM is a section dedicated to those who consistently work on making a positive change in society and in themselves, and it is our pleasure to say a few words about one of them each month. This time we are writing about the activism of Samra Đuderija, a representative case of a young adult who gives their last atom of energy to make their surrounding a more beautiful place for living.
Our future doctor of medicine Samra Đuderija was born in Sarajevo, where she’s currently living. She graduated from the Medical High School Jezero, the department of Pediatric Nurse/Technician. Samra continued her formal education by applying at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Sarajevo. Samra had chosen to study medicine because of her wish to help people, ease their troubles and give them hope for a better tomorrow. As Samra was one of the most successful students at the faculty, during her studies she was chosen as a teaching assistant at the Department of Microbiology and Parasitology. Samra points out that the Hastor Foundation had played a role in that:
The Hastor Foundation has meant a lot to me because it was my support; it’s always
encouraged me to pursue my studies. I’ve always knew that I’ll be a doctor. It was my
only wish. I had health issues as a child and spent the majority of my time in hospital
halls and rooms, watching doctors do their job. Ever since then I’ve known that my
own place will be in a hospital.
Samra became part of the Hastor family in 2021 and to this day through countless activities she’s proven to be one of the most hard-working scholarship holders. To remind you, Samra said this right after she became a member of the Hastor Foundation:
I’ve heard about the Hastor Foundation before I became part of it. I’ve heard everything
about their activities and volunteer work from a close friend, and I had always admired
the positive stories. At the end, I decided that I wanted to be part of such a community,
which motivated me to apply for the scholarship. What caught my attention the most
were the local community activism and volunteer work that I use now to both help
others and increase my knowledge and hone my skills.
Judging by Samra’s active engagement in volunteer work, commitment and enthusiasm she has, nothing has changed since Samra’s first two years in the Hastor Foundation. A proof of this are her numerous activities that we’ll introduce in the rest of this article, hoping that other scholarship holders will be inspired and encouraged to do the same. Samra, as a part of volunteer engagement in the Hastor Foundation, works with pupils as their mentor, and she points out that she used to be a mentor to high schoolers as well. Samra shared with us that she tried her hardest to make the workshops interesting just like the topics she presented to her mentees. That’s why Samra brings various board games to her mentees and they draw or listen to music. Samra celebrated the Good Deeds Day with her volunteer group by doing the ecological project with the aim of cleaning parks in the Vogošća area. By cleaning the parks from trash, they together reminded the citizens of the importance of caring about their environment. In this way Samra and her small team have spread the volunteer activities on a much bigger scale, actively involving young people as initiators of beautiful and positive ideas, implementing in this way the end goal of the Hastor Foundation—to reach the hearts of people through the volunteer activities and by spreading then the positive changes in society. Furthermore, Samra regularly volunteers in the kindergarten “Al Isra.” Since she both loves children and time spent with them a lot, this type of volunteer work she finds fulfilling.
In the kindergarten Samra helps older children do their homework or memorize a song; she often brings some toys or sweets to younger children. Observing the children, she realizes and understands how much love there actually is between children, regardless of their skin color, class or religion. That’s perhaps Samra’s way of escaping reality, escaping from everything that’s happening in the world. Children have the purest of hearts and they remind Samra, as she shared with us, to make her own heart stay like that. Looking at the children, Samra highlights her desire to be part of the generation that will make the future a better place for the children.
Regarding the volunteer hours in the kindergarten and her role in the Hastor Foundation, Samra says:
I had known about volunteerism even before I became a scholarship holder, but I didn’t know at all where to start. I needed someone to support and guide me… simply said, I needed the Hastor Foundation. I’ve closely followed the work of the Foundation, wanted to become part of it, but there was never an opportunity. One day I saw that the places for new scholarship holders were open so I decided to apply, not even thinking that I’d become part of it right now. The Foundation has made me more responsible, approachable, skillful and has given me the most important thing—its support for my future. I try my best to present the Foundation in its best light. I talk about it to my friends, presenting only a part of what the Foundation does for us.
When we asked Samra what the Hastor Foundation actually meant in her daily life, efforts and philanthropy work, she said that the Foundation will always be a part of her, even after she completes her formal education:
It’s taught me to be a better person, to respect others and always be a guiding hand
for the younger. It’s given me an opportunity to be someone’s role model as there is
always someone who wishes to be like you. I’ve made a lot of friends and widened my
horizons. It’s teaching me that knowledge is the greatest treasure and to always be
thankful for what I have, but never fear asking for more. The Hastor Foundation is an
opportunity that each and every student awaits, it’s a guiding star through studying
and education. It’s an opportunity that I needed to decide to neither offer nor use my
acquired knowledge in someone else’s, but my own country.
