I have to tell you something…

“I have to tell you something…” is the utterance with which a happy boy started his story about associations with his older sister Lamia. Lamia is a third-year student of psychology at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University in Sarajevo and a volunteer for the Association for addiction prevention Narko-NE.

Lamia and her younger brother have met each other two years ago and are inseparable ever since. To my question: “What is it that you have in common since day one?”, they answered briskly in one voice: “Both of us love to talk and eat a lot.” From the very beginning of their socialization, crediting that common peculiarity, they always have a lot of diverse themes to talk about, making the terms “boredom” and “monotony” obsolete for their time spent together.

To make the best out of their day, they always make a list of places they want to go to couple of days before they meet up but take into consideration both Lamia’s and boy’s wishes. Lamia confined to me how she enjoys fulfilling the boy’s wishes because he is always grateful and truly happy. He showed that he is grateful and honored that Lamia is his older sister by, among other things, praising her how she is always there for him and his family. Giving them a helping hand and support, bringing them groceries when they are sick or just the fact that she encourages them with words of comfort, are deeds that mean a world to the boy and which he so venerably relates.

One of the associations that takes a special place in their memories is definitely when they went out for pancakes to their favorite place. I felt exquisite gratification watching the boy as he was relating to me that event mainly because his facial expressions gave away how they had actually felt. Sentence: “I loved it the most when we tried the pancakes and then simultaneously uttered mmmm!” put the smile on my face.

Considering that he didn’t in a single instance say anything negative, I asked him whether there is something that bothered him regarding the associations, something that made him sad, and something he would like to change. The answer to that question was related to aggravating circumstances of transportation, taking into consideration that the boy lives in a quarter further from the town itself. Because of that, but also because of his school obligations and Lamia’s faculty ones, they cannot meet up during the workdays. However, no difficulty, and not even the mentioned ones, stop them from socializing during the weekends and from enjoying the moments spent together, which are numerous. The fact that they stayed in contact, even during those times of prohibition of movement caused by Coronavirus, by video calling, and superseded their common associations as such, shows how attached they are and how much those associations really mean to them.

But the salient thing, something both of them mention, with a positive effect of their associations, is that the boy has become more sociable when interacting with other children, which becomes apparent when they participate in group activities of the Older brother, older sister program, in which both of them enjoy just as much as on their individual associations. Furthermore, the boy’s increasingly good manner of finding his way around the town and confidence showed when visiting certain parts of town are also part of the positive effects of their associations, which they gladly mention.

“What is the thing you would suggest to future volunteers, why should they join the program?”, I asked her, to which we both agreed that the reason is definitely happiness from associations and the fact that however bleak is the day or life’s obligations may be hard, there is always someone who will “bring the sun” and draw out a smile on your face.

Lamia has this to say to future volunteers: “Volunteering is a two-way street – besides giving something, you are also gaining a lot.”

Filled with joy and satisfaction for having this opportunity to talk to Lamia and her younger brother, I confirm the importance and happiness of being part of this positive beautiful story.

Volunteer Amila Ibrahimovic