Our story
„Everyone helps someone at some point in their life… not because they expect a reward, but simply because… they can…”
Barča said this near the end of her life, when I asked her why she would want to help others who find themselves in a similar situation to hers, even though she herself was very ill.
It was in the autumn of 2022 when the life of this kind, smart, and incredibly inspiring 17-year-old girl was turned completely upside down by a very serious oncological diagnosis… and the lives of everyone around her as well.
Barča was studying chemistry, and her lifelong dream and goal was to seek a cure for cancer. Unfortunately, she was not granted the chance to live a long life devoted to this admirable mission. Anyone who believes in fate might even say that it could be precisely because she might have succeeded in contributing to such a cure.
She resigned herself to the fact that it would be anything but easy and began her unbelievably tough fight. It’s “unbelievable” because only those who undergo it, and their loved ones who care for them, can say what it’s really like… unfortunately, there are far too many of them around us, and not all receive the help they might need in such moments.
From the start, the specific form of her illness offered Barča no real hope of recovery. Current science is indeed powerful, but not when it comes to DIPG – a tumor of the brain stem, which one of her attending physicians aptly called the “nightmare of every pediatric oncologist.”
Like many children before her, ten months after her diagnosis, Barča lost her battle with this disease… and with her, so did her entire family and everyone who tried, despite the hopelessness, to do everything within human power to somehow prevent that terrible and inevitable end.
As long as Barča’s health permitted, despite all possible and impossible complications, she began—on her own initiative—to pursue her “alternative” dream, which she hoped she would still have time to fulfill. She felt she didn’t have much time left in this world. Gravely ill herself, she decided to help children who would find themselves in a similar situation to hers. And not just them, but also their families, who, because of nonstop caregiving for their loved ones, go through the most psychologically and physically demanding experience they may ever face. She created her own “Fond dobra” (Goodness Fund), from which she intended to finance these activities. She looked forward to spreading help and, in fact, managed to do so in a few cases herself.
Barča may have left us, but her vision of how to help those in need remains, and it has become our mission. Barča’s Fond dobra was transformed into “Berlička” (“little crutch”), which any child, patient, or family within our reach can lean on. And not only when they are running out of strength or resources…
Based on my own life experience, I can say that people who are gravely ill, and their loved ones who care for them, go through a terrible “roller coaster.” The often dreadful treatment outcomes, side effects, symptoms of the disease, and feelings of fear, helplessness, and hopelessness. The mental and physical exhaustion of parents and caregivers, who also have to handle the economic consequences of nonstop care and navigate the very confusing and uncoordinated world of social assistance. A family’s normal life grinds to a halt because there is no time or energy for anything else. Everyone slowly starts losing the ground beneath their feet, and without help, it’s simply impossible to manage. That is why we will continue striving to fulfill the wish and dream of our daughter Barča, even though she is no longer with us. Her story and her humble selflessness have become a tremendous inspiration for us to realize that everyone can help… simply because… they can.
