Help us continue Ivana’s work for children with Down Syndrome

Dear Ivana's friends,

In November, our community said goodbye to one of its brightest and most loving souls. Ivana Bosančić (Pearson College UWC YR45/2020) died after 5 months of battling the injuries she suffered in a car accident in June. Ivana left us too early but the ideas she believed in and the legacy she left will continue to live beyond time.

Ivana was curious and brave in everything she did and ever since she was a child, there were two areas she was especially passionate about; biology and taekwondo. Shortly after turning 18, she left her humble home in Zagreb and moved to Canada to attend UWC Pearson where she continued exploring her passion for science and found new ways to incorporate taekwondo in her life.

Earlier this year, Ivana won the GoMakeADifference award that was intended to fund Čigrin Let, a free program based on using fundamental elements of taekwondo as a way of working with and rehabilitating children with special needs and aiding their integration into everyday society.

By educating the broader society and shedding the light on all the successes of its members throughout the years, the program continuously strives to break the stigma revolving around people with special needs. The initial program was so successful in its mission that it gave rise to two other socially responsible programs; one for people with physical impairment and intellectual disabilities and one for children at the margins of society (children of single parents, those on social welfare, etc.) Čigrin Let keeps growing every year and in 2018, the founders of the program were given the “Pride of Croatia” award which pays tribute and celebrates people whose acts demonstrated exceptional humanity and unselfishness and inspired others in the community.

Čigrin Let is run by Ivana’s taekwondo club (Čigra) where she was a member for more than 10 years and it was especially close to her heart. Ivana went above and beyond to help, promote, and fundraise for its mission. She volunteered with members of the program ever since the beginning and continued contributing even after she left Croatia. Unfortunately, she did not live to see the training equipment that was bought with the funds she was awarded.

Devastated by the loss and in an effort to keep her memory alive, we ask you, or anyone you know, to support the cause she was so passionate about. It is her family’s wish to continue what Ivana selflessly started and to keep her legacy going. All donations will go directly to the same account as funds from the GoMakeADifference award and will be used to help and support the activity of the program (equipment, educational events, etc.)

If you would like to know more about any of these or about our beloved Ivana, feel free to reach out.

Linked below are videos about the program that were shown on national television over the years. Although they are all in Croatian, I hope that you will be able to get the gist of the cause and its importance to the community.

(4) Dnevnik 3, HRT 1 - YouTube

(4) CLK 2017 Dnevnik NovaTV - YouTube

(4) DNEVNIK 30042016 PRILOG TAEKWONDO - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s37REYQLK6k