Help Abu to study abroad

HI! I am Assane and I am raising this campaign because I want to help my friend from Bosnia to study abroad. I hope that you will help him too! Now you can read Abu's story:

"Hello everyone! My name is Abdulah Hodžić and in one month I will be 16 years old. I’ve just finished the first year of my high school (Secondary School of Applied Arts) in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Right now, I’m seeking help to fund my dream of studying abroad for a trimester in Italy through the AFS study-abroad organization. If I succeed in raising enough money, with your help, I’ll leave for Italy in the beginning of September 2018 to study in the School of Fine Arts in Italy! Before I continue, I need to thank you for taking the time to read this.

I believe that it is not important who we are, but what we can do with our lives and what kind of change we can make in this world. But for this purpose, perhaps you need to know something more about me, so here we go...

I’m coming from Sarajevo, the capital city of B&H full of miracles. You probably know about Bosnian war (1992-1995) and the longest siege of a capital city in modern history, that produced the worst atrocities in Europe since World War II. Today, more than 20 years after the war ended, Bosnian people and its youth are still working hard to build the better future for our citizens.



Regarding my education process, in the last year of my primary school, I figured out that I was just “another brick in the wall”. In situations like that, the most important is to step aside and create a chance to see things from different perspectives. So, since last year, my life has totally changed. During my primary school, I think that I didn’t care that much about being focused on the certain goal. Enrollment process in my high school was a bit stressful for me. I did the best practical work during the entrance exam, but my place on the candidates list changed from the first to the last one, due to the results from my primary school. Back to then, I obviously didn’t care about the notes, but when I looked to the past and see how much everything was connected… I  became speechless when I realized what is all about. However, in the end, I enrolled in the School of Fine Arts and today I’m one of the best students in the class. But, formal education is just one part of my journey.

I started to think about bigger things in life but also how much we need to appreciate small moments of each day, because even in those moments, miracles can happen. We need to let us grow in every area that we find interesting. I’ve tried many sports, read interesting books that inspired me to fight for my dreams and I’ve realized that one of my biggest passions is video making (some of my videos: Video about my view of happiness (in Bosnian language); How can we become better students?;  videos I made together with my sister: #MyHometown  and What can I do to fight corruption? (for the last one we won 1st place on competition organized by US Embassy in B&H)). Also, after I got the opportunity to participate in local and international workshops and meet many people from different countries, I realized how much is important to step out from our comfort zone and learn things in different ways… through experiencing them. This is why I decided to apply for AFS intercultural program. I passed all selection-rounds and firstly AFS has selected me for one year program in Italy, for which I was hoping to get a scholarship, but unfortunately, that wasn’t possible. The second option was the three-month program, for which I would need less money, so I accepted that opportunity. By the way, since I’m living in a difficult financial situation, first advice from my parents was to quit. I understand them because due to bad social, economic and political situation in my country, earning money in B&H is sometimes really hard. However, I decided that I won’t quit in life anymore. Program costs of participation in the program in Italy amount to 5.500 BAM (which is approx. $3450). And here I am... after thousands of emails and many requests to different institutions and companies in my country, I didn’t get any positive answer. However, AFS B&H and AFS from Italy decided to provide one part of the financial support for program costs. One more installment is left ($1300) and if I don't make it, I will lose an opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and meet myself even better. I see myself as a mature person, but I still need to learn many things. If I go in Italy to study abroad, I will explore the country which is the cradle of European art and culture, but I will also learn a new language, meet different culture, make new friends and experience those special moments of miracles that I mentioned before. After all that I've been through, I mostly find myself in art. I strongly believe that amazing spirit of Italy and its people would inspire me even more for new ideas that I’m working on right now: presenting my art through different techniques of paintings and drawing, as well as videos, while I’m hoping that all of this will inspire other people to think differently, find their way in life and build their own happiness. You can check some of my drawings on my Instagram page. When I come back to my home country, I’ll share all knowledge and wisdom that I’m hoping to get in Italy and I will motive other youth to study abroad.

After all, please have in mind that with each of your donations, I’m becoming closer to achieving my dream of studying abroad. Thank you! Any words would be powerless to express my gratitude to all of you. Even if you can't donate the money, sharing my story on your social media would be also helpful. I hope you enjoyed reading this and I hope that this will continue with the positive flow!"