MAJA KAZAZIC
Maja Kazazic was just 16 years old when a shell exploded in her back yard, killing her friends and leaving Maja severely injured. It was at the height of the Bosnian conflict in 1993. Mostar was under siege and no food or medical aid was reaching the east side of the city. Cared for in the basement of the makeshift hospital, her left leg was eventually amputated below the knee. Her other leg was also damaged and without medication the wound began to fester in the mid-summer heat. When Sally Becker crossed the front line to evacuate her and four other injured children from the hospital, Maja's leg had become infected and she was in danger of losing her life.
Following her evacuation from Mostar, Maja was transferred to the MASH hospital in Croatia and later to the United States. The doctors managed to save her other leg and she began learning to walk with a prosthesis.
Maja taught herself English and enrolled herself in high school, determined to pick up the remnants of her shattered life. She joined the marching band, put herself through college and became a successful entrepreneur and internationally recognized keynote speaker. In the process, she also learned to windsurf and to play tennis and golf, despite the obvious challenges these pastimes present to a below the knee amputee.
Sally and Maja were reunited in 2009 and have stayed in touch ever since. When Maja heard about Sally's mission to help the sick and injured children fleeing from ISIS, she wanted to help and is now representing Road to Peace in Tampa USA