In the care of two parents who worked at the Islamic Community in the city of Mostar in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Sumayya Kasbovich” saw the light of life in 1990. Her father was a mosque imam and her mother a teacher. She lived the first two years of her life in happiness and calm, surrounded by her family’s care in that peaceful, beautiful city with its stunning natural scenery.
What made the difference in her story was support that continued through university education, which is explained step by step in the guide Sponsoring a Student of Knowledge: Your Complete Guide.
The tragedy of Mostar
But the pace of her life did not continue like this. The third year was completely different, a conflict that ran from 1992 to 1995. Because of the tension in the city and fear for his family, her father moved her and her family to a refugee camp in Croatia, left them there and went back alone to Mostar. After several months he brought them back to Mostar to live together there, thinking the conflict that was raging then had stopped. But unfortunately it showed its head again, and her father became one of the victims of its blazing fire. So Sumayya became an orphan, and she was then three years old.
The Kasbovich family’s suffering grew because of the absence of a provider, the weak means of living, and the atmosphere of fear and anxiety around them. But God’s care reached this family and things began to ease after less than two years, specifically in 1995, when the hand of a generous sponsor from Qatar reached Sumayya and her two brothers, to wipe away their tears and ease for her and them the bitterness of orphanhood and the absence of a father’s warmth. It became a cause for providing material and moral support for the girl to achieve her dreams of excellence and distinction on the paths of knowledge and academic attainment inside her country and abroad. She crowned this by earning a master’s degree.
Distinction and ambition
Her sponsorship, with which God honored her and which lasted from 1995 to 2011, noticeably reflected positively on her personal life and her family’s life in several matters, the most prominent of which, as she says: “It supported us in overcoming the difficulties of living and continuing school, and so it influenced our progress and success in general, and it also planted in my heart love for the Arab countries and love for the Arabic language, which motivated me to learn it and master it.”
Sumayya Kasbovich says: “In the school of orphanhood I learned patience and struggle, diligence and perseverance,” to be able to draw an astonishing story of ambition. Added to that is strong trust in God first and in herself second, which in sum contributed to achieving the dreams she had planned.” And she says: “All my ambitions came true by God’s grace; I drew strength from Him, glory be to Him, and found that the wishes I was striving for did not stay away from me.”
Sumayya’s journey of ambition and distinction began in childhood. She graduated from primary school with distinction in 2005, then from secondary school, also with distinction, in 2009.
On that basis she was given the chance to study at the International Islamic University in Malaysia. There she spent four years, graduating with distinction, and returned to Bosnia again.
Sumayya Kasbovich’s visit to Qatar
By a happy coincidence, the caring hand looked after Sumayya as an orphan when she was a small child, and as a student of knowledge at the postgraduate stage when she was a young woman, and it was her lot to continue her academic journey in Qatar, the country that loved her and that she loved. How happy she was when she received a scholarship to study a master’s degree at the College of Islamic Studies at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar (a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development).
Sumayya’s story of ambition continues, and she spent more than two years in Doha, ending that period with a master’s degree in 2018. Her thesis was “The Meeting of Islamic Heritage with the Social Sciences: The Case of Islamic Psychology”.
Sumayya considers her studies in Malaysia and then in Qatar among the most important and richest stations of her life. She notes that she used her time in Doha to improve her Arabic, especially speaking, noting that she first learned Arabic in non-Arab countries, but being in Qatar gave her a greater chance to practice this beautiful language she loves.
Strengthening the self
Because she understands the greatness of helping others in practice after feeling its effect from those who stood by her in past years, Sumayya believes in the importance of volunteer and charitable work and in taking part in it strongly.
She began that by teaching children in her city and in some volunteer student activities while studying in Malaysia, and when she thinks about it now she thinks about education and children, especially orphans, because she sees great importance in that, as she told us.
An additional strength from which Sumayya Kasbovich draws her motivation
Sumayya does not forget to end her talk with a word from the heart, addressed to orphans around the world, urging them to trust in God and excel in their lives, from the reality of the experience and suffering she went through, in which she said: “Be close to God and trust Him, for He cares for you with distinguished care! But you will need a bit more strength than other children, so ask for it from the Strong, the Mighty! Do not fear life, and be distinguished!”
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Frequently asked questions about university education
Does sponsorship include university education?
Orphan sponsorship usually covers the stages of basic education, while university education has separate support programs such as sponsoring a student of knowledge and scholarships. Moving between the two programs on time is what preserves the continuity of the path and prevents a break at the hardest stage.
Why do many orphans drop out at the threshold of university?
Because the cost of university education jumps suddenly while the state of orphanhood ends at puberty and many sponsorship programs stop with it. This is exactly where the greatest return on the previous years of support is lost, which is why higher education programs are designed to cover this gap.
What does an orphaned student need to excel at university?
Financial stability that lifts the burden of providing, safe housing near the university, and continuous psychological support. The absence of any one of the three is enough to stop the path however brilliant the student, as the stories of high achievers from different countries show.
How do I support a university student facing hardship?
Through Qatar Charity’s program for sponsoring a student of knowledge, which covers fees, housing and study supplies. Sponsorship is annual and renewable until graduation, and the sponsor receives periodic reports on the sponsored student’s academic achievement.
