Volunteer work makes a lasting impression on an individual, providing an opportunity for self-growth, networking and contribution to society. Volunteers work together on improving their community and making a positive change in the world around them. This month’s Small Stories of Great Volunteers is a bit diff erent and more special from its usual format – we bring to you experiences of our younger scholarship recipients that volunteered with their mentors in this month’s project “18 Years of Hastor Foundation through Goodness.” Read in the following passages about their opinions, feelings and memories that they have from volunteer work in their local communities.
In Tuzla Ajla Hasanović and Alma Osmanović volunteer with a group of primary and high school students respectively. This month our hard-working mentors decided to prepare meals with their students for people in need. By the shared willpower and by bringing a special connection of love and empathy to the volunteer work, the mentors prepared chocolate dates and sandwiches with their high school students while they packed and distributed the food with their primary school students, who were all especially thrilled about this form of volunteer work.
Amina Džananović, a Tuzla Medical High School student, has learned about herself and others and developed empathy towards other people through this new volunteer experience:
This month volunteering with our mentors was considerably diff erent from the usual. I’ve been in the Hastor Foundation for a little more than six months, as opposed to other students-mentees who have been part of the Foundation since primary school. Nonetheless, so far all of the volunteer experiences have been unique and interesting. The volunteer experience from this month helped me get to know myself and others better, to improve empathy and care more for other people. It wasn’t only the buying, packing and giving out the meals that were special to me, but also contributing to my community, to others around me and the sense of doing something good.
Ever since I joined this group, the volunteering has become far more interesting and fun. This month we packed and gave out food to people who couldn’t get it for themselves. That day I felt good and fulfi lled and I was glad that we could help others, at least a little, Alice Dizdarević, a primary school students, pointed out.
When we all met, we talked about school and extracurricular activities. After that, we had a quiz and a short snack break. And then we packed six meals and gave them out to the people at the square. I was very happy that we could help those in need and that we did a good deed, Melina Joldić told us proudly.
Apart from Ajla and Alma, this month our industrious mentors Alma Ahmetović and Džejlana Smajić brought their volunteer work to the next level. They volunteer with 18 primary and three high school students in Zvornik. Their volunteer work in April included collecting trash, separating plastic, paper and glass, making animal feeders out of plastic bottles and feeding animals. The students had fun and they gained new skills and experiences, which can be noticed based on their impressions they had shared with us:
I volunteered locally with my mentors Džejlana and Alma. We collected trash, fed animals and built houses for them. It was such a beautiful experience for me. I felt very happy and content because we got together and did such good deeds, both for animals and people. I hope we will do even more to make others around us happy on our next meetings, Ajla Sahanić told us.
I felt content and fulfi lled while volunteering in the local community. Seeing animals healthy and happy because of our eff orts made me very proud, said Jasmin Lolić.
I felt content and fulfi lled while volunteering in my local community. It made me proud to see animals healthy and happy because of our work, said Jasmin Lolić. First of all, the Hastor Foundation is not only a special community, but also a family that unites and networks many students throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina. I am grateful to her for that. As for volunteering with other students, for my three years of scholarship I can say that it is a wonderful experience and that, above all, it is very commendable and humane that we help animals and clean the nature around us with our mentors and other scholarship students. Also, it is very nice to socialize with others and contribute to improving the quality of life, Melisa Sarajlić pointed out.
Student Adna Tulić is delighted with the idea and honoured to be a part of this project:
Volunteering is a wonderful way to help the environment. I am honoured to have been a part of this project because I enjoyed cleaning our beautiful Drina and making houses for the animals. Of course, I could not have done any of this without the help of my friends and our valuable mentors. The feeling of satisfaction is priceless.
Our third volunteer group consists of three mentors: Dženita Ibrahimović, Saida Ibrahimović and Ibrahim Hidić. They organised an action to clean the banks of the Drina River in Zvornik. Although a small number of students attended, only three, the mentor points out that they spent quality and purposeful time, which is confi rmed by the students:
This month’s volunteering was more interesting than all previous ones. I always look forward to going to meetings because I know they will bring me something useful. We socialised but also contributed to the environment. Volunteering means a lot to me, student Lejla Džilić told us.
I had a great time at this workshop. We had fun and collected waste next to the Drina and made it cleaner and more beautiful, added Enis Dedić.
It was great for me! I used the opportunity to clean our environment, but also to learn something new, as in every workshop. I am looking forward to new volunteering in the community and I secretly wish that it would be on the Drina River again, said Alma Avdić.
Emira Imamović and Fatima Musa decided to volunteer with their students at the Home for Children Without Parental Care in Bjelava. They brought them sweets, hung out with them and in that way brought a certain amount of joy into their lives. Mentor Emira pointed out that they visit the Home very often, even in addition to volunteering, because it is impossible not to feel the connection and energy with the pure hearts of these children. Find out how the students experienced this volunteering in the rest of this text.
For Adna Hajdarević, this volunteering was a special complacence:
Volunteering at the Home for Children Without Parental Care has a special signifi cance for me, it evokes special emotions for me, and I am always happy to hang out with children. The attention we give them during play and socialising means a lot to them and, as they like to spend time with us, it is also a special contentment for me, at least in some way, to make the children feel good during our socialising. I like volunteering in the local community, I feel useful and good after each of our volunteering, and our mentor always tries to make us feel that we are an important link, both in the Foundation and in society.
High school student Kanita Avdović said the following about the benefi ts of volunteering:
Volunteering in the local community is a special type of volunteering for me. I like how these activities aff ect me. I feel that I am benefi ting society, and this very feeling lifts my mood, so I have the desire to do good for others as often as possible. During volunteering, we always have fun and socialize and do something useful.
I am happy that we also have this way of volunteering – in the local community. I am always happy to come to these meetings. I love that I can make my contribution to the community, beautify the environment or brighten up someone’s day, depending on the way of volunteering, student Tajra Bejdić told us at the end.
