While the four-year-old from Bar awaits a decision from the health authorities regarding his rehabilitation in Igalo, Bar's high school students did not sit idly by - students from the "Niko Rolović" Gymnasium organized a humanitarian basketball tournament "With Heart to Basket" last weekend, and the money raised was intended for the first steps Daris Jakupi.
The Barani played with all their hearts for Daris, and numerous citizens flooded the field with a desire to help. Under the slogan "Take a two-step for Daris' first step", the high school students wanted to financially help his family with further treatment, as the boy, who was diagnosed with spina bifida at birth, faces intensive rehabilitation and a difficult operation.
Spina bifida is a neural tube birth defect in babies, where the spinal column does not close properly during early pregnancy, causing damage to the spinal cord and nerves.
Because of this, Daris has already had several different surgeries, spent three 21-day stays at the "Dr Simo Milošević" Institute in Igalo, and according to the latest medical records - this is the maximum he can achieve, although numerous doctors have determined that he will need physical therapy for many more years to have a chance to walk.
Changes in the Health Insurance Fund hinder changes to regulations
The Health Insurance Fund (FZO) initiated changes to the Rulebook on indications and methods of using medical rehabilitation in mid-April, after "Vijesti" wrote about the case of a four-year-old boy from Bar whose request for rehabilitation in Igalo was rejected because the document stipulated that he had exercised that right, and that in his first year of life.
The Health Insurance Fund told the editorial team that the working group is working intensively on preparing the changes, in cooperation with specialist doctors, and that they will be informed in a timely manner after the procedure is completed, and that they are open to all suggestions and proposals that may positively affect the aforementioned changes.
They emphasized that changes to the Rulebook are made solely based on professional medical suggestions and the real needs of insured persons, with the clear goal of expanding rights and improving the availability of rehabilitation for citizens who need it.
In March, the boy was denied rehabilitation, to which he had been referred by several specialist doctors from three countries - Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey.
As "Vijesti" previously wrote, the Health Insurance Fund and the Ministry of Health rejected the appeal of the boy's father - Turkana Jakupi due to the refusal of rehabilitation for his son. The Ordinance, as amended in 2025, stipulates that persons diagnosed with spina bifida may exercise their right to rehabilitation three times in the first year of life.
Until 2017, the regulation provided for rehabilitation every other year until the age of 15, and with the changes at that time, it allowed this right every other year until the age of 15.
After writing "Vijesti" in March this year, the then acting director of the Health Insurance Fund Aleksnadar Ruzic met with Jakupi's father and announced urgent changes to the regulations that limit the right to rehabilitation for people with this diagnosis to the first year of life.
"...Ružić showed exceptional understanding for the needs of insured persons facing this disease and said that the Fund will take steps to ensure continuous and adequate medical rehabilitation as soon as possible through amendments to the Rulebook," the Health Insurance Fund said in a statement from March.
After the meeting, the Jakupi family submitted the documentation again, and about ten days ago, as the boy's father told "Vijesti", they received a call from the Health Insurance Fund and the "Simo Milošević" Institute in Igalo with good news - Daris will still be able to go to rehabilitation this summer, even before the changes to the Regulations.
Meanwhile, the Administrative Court found that the former director of the Health Insurance Fund Vuk Kadic illegally removed from office and annulled the decision of the Board of Directors of that institution to dismiss him, so Kadić returned to that position.
The HIF Board of Directors then suspended Kadić, who was still in the director's chair when "Vijesti" asked questions about the process of amending the Regulations, at a meeting in late May.
Kadić was also the head of the Health Insurance Fund in 2024, when changes to this document were being worked on, and at that time he was an activist for the rights of people with disabilities. Anđela Radovanović sent a letter requesting that the regulation include rehabilitation for all people with spina bifida, and older than 15 years of age.
As Radovanović claims, she did not receive an answer, but was surprised by the fact that this right was limited to the first year of life.
With this in mind, "Vijesti" asked the Health Insurance Fund what Kadić's position is on this issue, and the institution responded that he supports changes to the Rulebook and that since the beginning of his mandate he has consistently advocated for the improvement of rights under mandatory health insurance.
They added that during Kadić's mandate, since June 2022, changes have been made to almost all key regulations of the Fund, including the latest changes to the current Regulations in 2025, when the right to medical rehabilitation was expanded to include 15 new diagnoses.
"We would like to remind you that at that time, for the first time, rights were expanded for patients with numerous neurological, rheumatological and rare diseases, including those suffering from spinal muscular atrophy, ALS, Friedreich's ataxia, cerebral palsy, traumatic spinal cord injuries, as well as children with bronchial asthma and chronic pulmonary and neurological diseases, in which cases the number of rehabilitations or the age limit for exercising the right to rehabilitation was increased," the Health Insurance Fund recently announced to "Vijesti".
They add that the rights of children with developmental disabilities, stroke patients, and people with severe rheumatological diagnoses have been improved, which represents one of the greatest strides in the field of medical rehabilitation of our insured persons.
"Doctor Kadić supported every initiative that had a professional foundation and financial sustainability, because responsible management of the system implied that new rights were introduced exclusively with the funds provided and the approval of the Ministry of Finance. In this way, the Fund managed to simultaneously expand the scope of rights, but also preserve the stability of the health system and the regularity of financing of all existing services," they concluded.
High school students, "Women of Bar", private individuals, TO Bar...
Students from the Bar "Niko Rolović" Gymnasium, led by a teacher Milkicom Čarkmak, told "Vijesti" that this year they decided to help little Daris, whose diagnosis prevents him from walking, and to dedicate a traditional humanitarian tournament to him.
The tournament was played on the “Arena Court”, the field behind the Gymnasium, and this time, due to greater interest, it lasted for three days - June 5, 6 and 7, from 7 pm to midnight.
"This time we played with all our hearts for Daris. Daris is immobile and his further progress requires constant physical therapy, which his parents have to finance themselves, and they live with two other boys in difficult living conditions," the high school students said.
The registration fee for participation in the "three on three" tournament was 10 euros per person, and high school students were delighted this week with the news that a private clinic operating in Bar would cover the participation for all 51 teams in the tournament.
The same clinic allowed the Jakupi family to have their son undergo all necessary medical tests and analyses free of charge, for as long as he needed them.
The high school students do not yet know the final amount of money they have collected because, as they explained, they have to count all the donation boxes in detail and reconcile that amount with the amount paid into the account of the NGO "Women of Bar with a Big Heart"; an association that runs a soup kitchen in that town and works closely with the Jakupi people.
Manager of “Žena Bara” Ljiljana Vujović She told "Vijesti" that they will know the final outcome of the campaign on Thursday at the earliest, but that they are optimistic, considering how many people came to the tournament and supported the campaign yesterday, after the formal end of the event.
Turkan Jakupi told the editorial team that it was difficult for him to talk about the gesture of his fellow citizens from last weekend, and that it was nice, but in a "difficult way." He cannot express his gratitude, he said, adding that they continue to fight.
They hope, he concluded, that the tournament will make everything that follows easier for them, because after rehabilitation in Igalo, Daris has to travel to Belgrade for surgery - to replace a foreign body in his brain.
The money will also help their son continue his private rehabilitation and exercises until conditions are created for him to go to Igalo, and the situation, Jakupi claims, is complicated by his other two children who go to school and are also cared for by their mother, while he spends most of his time working "to make ends meet."
When the Jakupi family was rejected for rehabilitation in June last year, according to the father, it caused them to feel fear for their son's life and health, because it would be the first year of missed rehabilitation.
Since they did not have the money to pay for private rehabilitation themselves, they turned to the "Women of Bar", who then organized a fundraising campaign for Daris to travel to Turkey for treatment. 40 thousand euros were collected with the help of Barans and other people of good will, and the Bar Tourist Organization allocated 20 thousand euros for Daris.
In Turkey, he was fitted with orthopedic devices (orthosis), but what his parents had hoped for did not happen. Even after his stay in that country, each subsequent examination by a specialist doctor showed the need for continued rehabilitation. That is why the Barani, led by high school students, continue to work together to provide Daris with a chance to take his first step.
Exhibition match with Paralympians
High school students organized the "Heart to the Basket" tournament last year, when they played for the boys. Mehmet and managed to raise a significant portion of the money needed for his treatments. This year, as they told the list, they learned about the case of little Daris and decided to play for him.
A special part of this tournament was a showcase match with Paralympians from the state wheelchair basketball team who will "cross" their skills with high school students.
This, they said, was Professor Čarmak's idea, so that students would have the opportunity to see what life is like when they sit and can't run. The students think it will be a very significant and emotional moment, and they believe that Barani will once again show the humanity for which they are known.
With 51 teams and tuition covered by a private clinic, the high school students estimate they have already raised several thousand euros, and expect that figure to be much higher because the field behind their school was too small to accommodate everyone who came to participate. Support was also provided by numerous business people and the Bar Tourist Organization.
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