Dženita Mujkanović from Tuzla in a humanitarian mission to help the people of Sri Lanka

(Patria) - Sri Lanka, a land full of exotic destinations, hides behind its natural beauty the dilapidated state of society, infrastructure, population and environment. There are many problems in this country! Minimal resources and a lack of solutions have brought this country to a state of great need for volunteers from around the world, who can and want to help.

It was precisely this realization that led Dženita Mujkanović, a student at Richmond Park International Secondary School in Tuzla, to spend her school break and this summer helping the people of this small island nation.

“Today, as peoples around the world become more united, there are problems beyond our borders that require intervention from communities outside their borders. It is important to realize when we have the opportunity to provide help and give our best,” emphasizes Dženita, speaking about her engagement in Sri Lanka.

This young girl, a high school student from Tuzla, instead of a carefree break and peer socializing, chose humanitarian work far from her own country, where she believed help was needed and where she could help. Dženita spent the summer with village children and monks in Sri Lanka, teaching children various skills through lectures and workshops. The children in this country, says Dženita, do not have the education they need, so her engagement in this field was aimed at its partial improvement.

Their community facilities – temples used by the community do not have enough money for maintenance; they are dilapidated and decaying. So Dženita also used her stay in this country to contribute her own labor to their restoration.

“When I looked around me, I saw nothing but a broken system. A seemingly irreparable state. I would ask myself if what I am doing contributes to anything? At that moment, I looked at what I had in front of me. It was a group of children looking at me curiously and a family smiling at me in the temple while I was painting a wall. Then I realized that every moment of every life is part of humanity. That was additional motivation for me to give my best and help as much as I can,” says Dženita, recalling her stay in Sri Lanka.