A helping hand to 6 families in need in Kosovo

Having spoken to children, volunteers and educators, I now wanted to speak to the families of participants to hear their firsthand experiences. It is important to note that TIP is unique in that it also provides classes aimed at adults particularly concerning literacy and healthcare. It is not unusual to have multiple generations of a family attending TIP’s centres. This is the case with Mirnie’s family, who’s home I visited in the Ashakali community of Neighbourhood 28 in Fushë Kosovë. Together with Elza, TIP’s volunteer coordinator who was acting as my translator and Hosni, a Neighbourhood 28 local, with a 13 year career at TIP and current head of operations at the Fushë Kosovë Center. We walk together, through winding streets and houses, pausing briefly every so often as people stop to greet Hosni and have a brief chat. It was clear that he is a known and trusted face in the community and it was he who organised my interview with Mirnie.  Mirnie, a housewife with six children ages between infancy and their early teens, lives at the end of a lane in a cement house with wood and corrugated iron trimmings. We exchange greetings, remove our shoes and sit on the carpeted entryway to her home for the interview.

From the start it is clear that pursuing education is the motivation behind Mirnie and her family’s involvement with TIP. Her children are among the most regular attendees of TIP’s classes as well as the regular local school and she emphasises how she makes it a priority to bring the children to and from activities as well as attending literacy herself. Two years ago, she and her children first started at TIP after hearing about it from a neighbourhood friend, testament to how  local word-of-mouth encourages people to get involved. Whilst the eldest children attend the after-school activities, Mirnie is able to leave her younger children at TIP’s kindergarten and attend the adult literacy classes which also function as community support groups where people can share and discuss personal issues in addition to reading and writing. She gives the example of now being able to read the subtitles of television programmes to demonstrate her progress. This balancing however is not easy, caring for children of so many different ages all with different needs, ensuring they remain in school in addition to pursuing her own education requires careful prioritisation and this is once more where TIP comes in. In addition to its classes, TIP can provide school bags and materials as well as, like in Mirnie’s case, extra food to families who show consistent dedication to class attendance. This has a circular effect as it lightens the financial load of food costs, decreasing the likelihood of older children having to leave school early to contribute financially and thus increasing the chances of them receiving a High School diploma and entering University or finding gainful employment. Mirnie hopes that education for herself and her children will bring them a better future and specifically, a better house for them to live in.

 Speaking to Mirnie made me understand how the community function of TIP leads to long-term motivation for stable class and activity attendance. If along all age lines members of your community attend TIP which is within walking distance from your home and who’s educators are trusted faces in touch with the community’s needs, there is a high chance that you will attend too. Education, even on as small a scale as being able to read television subtitles, opens doors to accessing more information and making a broader range of informed and empowered choices.