HUMANITARNI BAZAR ZA HELENU I INES (13.04.2025.)

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01. SPECIFICATIONS:
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Event date: April 13th, 2025
Location: Novi Sad, Serbia

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02. DESCRIPTION:
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This was my 3rd charity event I participated in. It was organized for Helena and
Ines, two girls with developmental and neurological conditions. It took place at
the "Svetozar Miletić" High School of Economics in Novi Sad. It was also the last
charity event we had organized during a school blockade. On March 4th, 2025,
at the meeting with other students, we decided to block the school.

Protests were organized everywhere, while our pirncipal was pressuring us about
the final exams and our grades. The reactions from professors were mixed, some
supported us, some were neutral, and others were upset. One of the professors
started recording us without our consent. I don’t remember this in much detail,
since I left early so I wouldn’t miss my bus.

Even a year later, this event still reminds me of that blockade period, because it’s
the only way I can remember it clearly. Overall, I didn’t actively participate in the
blockade itself, since I didn’t want to be pressured by some professors, but I still
took part in the charity events we organized.

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03. THE EVENT:
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It took place at the "Svetozar Miletić" High School of Economics in Novi Sad on
April 13th, 2025. It was going to take place a week earlier, however, it had to be
postponed due to bad weather conditions. For this event, I was joined by two
of my friends, one from engineering school and the other from medical school.

While we were walking to the bus stop, my friend suggested that we walk all the
way to my school, and we agreed. It took us about an hour to get to the school in
the city center from the Klisa district.

When we arrived, most of the desks were already set up. There were also some
of my classmates, and also some professors who helped organize the event. One
of my classmates helped me arrange some extra tables for my drawings. For the
stands, there were also books, desserts, snacks, and also other items related to
the protests, such as badges and clothing.

Since it was Sunday, so there were fewer people at the charity event. Some of the
visitors were mainly professors from our school. Even if there were fewer visitors,
we were still able to raise some money. We didn’t raise much, about 35,000 RSD
(around €300), but we had some fun at least.

Me and my friends left a bit earlier because we saw dark clouds and we thought it
was going to rain. Before we left, I handed the envelope to the organizers. For this
event, I sold about 10 drawings, which wasn’t much, but it was still a good result.

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04. AFTERMATH:
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This was the last charity event we organized during the blockade period. After this
event, we didn’t organize any more charities, since it wasn't very successful. Other
events that followed were mostly protests, including the April 26th protest, which
was organized by high school students in Novi Sad.

In May, we took practical classes, where we had to work in a company on our own,
and I worked at the bookkeeping agency. During that week, we organized our last
meeting on May 15th, 2025, where we decided to end the blockade and go back to
school. The reason was that if we continued, our school year would be extended.

I also remember that Friday, the last day of the work week. I was in a bus near the
city center, and we were stuck because people organized a 16-minute blockade in
memory of the 16 victims of the Novi Sad tragedy. I was standing by the front door
and asked the driver if he could open it, but he refused.

Other passengers also started complaining because the bus was old. Another
driver, or possibly a conductor, told us that they couldn’t let us out since they
would be responsible if anything happened to us. The only reason I wanted
to leave was so I could pay tribute to the victims.

After that, everything went smoothly. I finished high school, then we had prom, I
passed all my exams, and eventually got accepted in the Faculty of Economics to
study Business Informatics but on a self-financing basis, but for now, that's all.

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05. IMPRESSIONS:
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For my impressions, these charity events remind me of an unforgettable period
in my life. Even though it was often stressful and uncertain, it was also a time of
strong emotions, teamwork, and shared experiences. Looking back, I realize how
much these events brought us together, despite all the difficulties.

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I hope you enjoy this one.

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