When celebrating a birthday, most people blow out the candles on the cake and are proud of the expensive gifts, but the waiter from Banja Luka, Bojan Marceta, noble and modest, decided to donate to the youngest brave hearts in the Bosnia and Hercegovina (BiH) entity Republika Srpska (RS) for his 40th birthday and paid a four-year savings of 1.000 BAM, all that money in 5 pfennigs, to the Association of Parents of Children with Malignant Diseases “Iskra”.
The youngest fighters
This man did not have an easy life. After coming to the town on the river Vrbas in the whirlwind of war from his native Drvar, like all refugees, he started from the beginning. He learned what it means to have it all and then lose it, and especially what it means to fight a vicious disease and lose a battle. In that battle, Bojan lost his wife five years ago, and in memory of her and her fight, he paid the savings of about 54 kilograms for the youngest fighters on Friday, Radio Sarajevo writes.
”I know how much money and attention are needed when a person is struggling with a serious illness. In addition, my daughter Marija told me about a friend who fell ill and who stayed at the Parents’ House for a while. All that made me think and I had no dilemma about what to do with the money. Time passed, there were more and more coins and I realized that on my 40th birthday I could give this small donation to the bravest. My motto in life is to help others, I don’t know any other way,” Bojan stated.
Bojan, who has been employed at the Banja Luka hotel “Jelena” for seven years, points out that his colleagues supported and encouraged him even when he was collecting change for the first time. For his team, he says there is no better, and together they showed the face of humanity in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic when they set aside their daily wages and donated to the Department of Pulmonology of the University Clinical Center of RS.
Bojan said that he was motivated to collect small money by the fast pace of life and extravagance, which we witness every day.
”People have become cold to each other, there is no compassion or help, everything is seen only through material gain. I don’t want to be a part of that,” Bojan exclacimed.
A message to politicians
When asked if he has a wish for his 40th birthday, this modest man from Krajina proudly said that when you are healthy, happiness is at your fingertips.
The president of the “Iskra” Association, Dijana Beric, thanked Bojan for such a wonderful gesture.
”People who have been through similar situations have more understanding and it is easier to identify with everything we go through, which is understandable. I am grateful to him and hope that his example will be a guide to many,” Beric expressed.
