For the second year in a row, we are giving children without parental care the opportunity to spend their weekends outside institutional care, socialize with their peers, and become part of a community where people know them, expect them, and look forward to seeing them. This year, as many as 23 children are taking part in the program.
Sometimes, it means a great deal to a child simply to have somewhere to go every week.
A place where they have friends. Where adults know them by name. Where someone is happy to see them and notices when they are not there.
That is exactly how, quite spontaneously, one of Foundation Second's activities that is especially dear to us began two years ago.
Foundation Second Director Belma Mujezinović has been attending weekend Qur'an classes at Bistri Izvor for the past four years. At one point, a simple idea emerged: why shouldn't the time she spends there also become an opportunity for children without parental care to spend a few hours outside the Children's Home, among their peers?
And so, two years ago, with the support of Muhamed Musić, Director of the Sarajevo Public Institution Home for Children without Parental Care, children in the institution's care began joining her.
Today, the program includes children living in the Home's main facility in Bjelave, as well as children growing up in its small family homes in Sokolović Kolonija, Blagovac, Kovačići and Marijin Dvor.
The youngest children attend kindergarten, where they play, socialize and learn alongside their peers, while the older children attend Qur'anic reading classes using the Nuraniyyah method.
We started with a smaller group.
This year, there are 23 of them.
It matters to us that they are where other children are
Although the children have organized activities during the weekend, perhaps the most important part of this program for us is not what appears on their schedule.
It is about friendship, belonging and growing up among their peers.
For several hours, they spend time outside institutional care, among children growing up in different circumstances. Together, they learn, play, talk and build friendships.
And after two years, we can already see how much this continuity means to them.
We see changes in their behavior. They are learning to wait for one another, to share, to help a younger child and to look out for others. They are learning rules, responsibility and patience, but also that their own needs are not the only ones that matter – the needs of the child sitting beside them matter too.
These may seem like small things when viewed individually.
But it is precisely through these small things that empathy, responsibility toward others and a sense of belonging to a community are built.
We do not want their world to be limited to the institution where they live, the school they attend and activities organized exclusively for children in the care system.
We want them to be where other children are.
To have their own circle of friends.
To have someone waiting for them.
To belong.
And it is precisely this continuity that makes this activity different from a one-day trip or an occasional visit. The children return to the same people, meet the same peers and, over time, build relationships.
Children without parental care are not solely the responsibility of the institution in which they live. They are the responsibility of all of us as a community.
We cannot replace their parents, but we can do a great deal to ensure that they grow up surrounded by good people, friends, safe places and adults who show them that they matter and that they belong.
Eight of our youngest children found another place where they belong
This year, we also faced a new challenge.
There were no available places for eight of the youngest children in Bistri Izvor's kindergarten group.
We did not want them to have to stay at the Children's Home while the others went to their weekend activities, so we looked for another solution.
We found it at the Bejan Association.
When we contacted them, they welcomed the children with exceptional warmth and made it possible for them to attend their kindergarten program completely free of charge.
Today, these eight little ones also have their own weekend gathering, their peers and people who are waiting for them.
We are immensely grateful to the Bejan Association for making this possible.
We are equally grateful to Bistri Izvor, as well as to all the teachers, educators and volunteers who already know our children well and who welcome them, weekend after weekend, with so much love, patience and understanding.
Someone teaches them. Someone helps when they do not understand something. Someone listens to them. Someone reminds them to share, to wait for another child or to help someone younger.
Together, they make the children feel welcome.
And perhaps that is one of the greatest values of this entire story: the children are no longer guests who came to visit once.
They are part of their groups.
The programs are free. Getting there is not.
There is, however, one expense that has been with us from the very beginning.
Transportation.
Every weekend, 23 children need to be transported from their homes to their activities and safely brought back afterwards.
As the number of children has grown, so has the cost of transportation. Once again this year, transportation is the largest expense we need to cover in order for the children to continue attending regularly.
That is why, as in previous years, we need the support of our friends and donors.
We are not asking for funds for expensive trips or special events.
We are asking for your help to take them, every weekend, to the places where their peers are waiting for them.
Because social inclusion should not be something a child experiences only a few times a year.
It should be part of growing up.
One ride may seem like a small thing. To them, it means so much.
You can help by covering part of the transportation costs, one ride, one weekend, or simply by donating whatever amount you are able to give.
To someone, a single ride may not seem like a significant act of kindness.
To us, it means that 23 children will leave their homes that weekend, meet their friends, learn something new, laugh, talk, share something with another child and spend a few hours simply being part of a group of children.
For the older children, that journey also leads to new pages of their Qur'anic primer, new Arabic letters and knowledge that, we hope, they will carry with them long after they grow up.
Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“The best among you are those who learn the Qur'an and teach it.”
(Sahih al-Bukhari)
We cannot all be their teachers. But we can help a child reach the place where they can learn.
And we can hope for reward for the good we helped make possible – for knowledge a child will carry with them, put into practice and perhaps one day pass on to someone else.
That is why every ride is about much more than the kilometres travelled.
It is an opportunity.
For friendship. For kindness and good character. For knowledge. For a sense of belonging. For growing up surrounded by people who care about them.
Help us make that journey possible for them. ❤️
We pray that Allah rewards all the teachers, educators, volunteers, donors and kind-hearted people who are already part of this story – for their time, patience, knowledge, love and every good thing they pass on to these children. 🤲❤️
🏦 Donations within Bosnia and Herzegovina (BAM)
Foundation Second, Nurije Pozderca 8, Sarajevo
Account number: 1413115320025053
Bosna Bank International d.d. Sarajevo
🌍 International donations (EUR/USD)
IBAN: BA391413115310005729
SWIFT: BBIBBA22XXX
Bank: Bosna Bank International d.d. Sarajevo
Beneficiary: Foundation Second, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
📞 Donate by phone: 17077 – 2 BAM
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