A new centre for new opportunities

I’m a 17-year old boy from London who has come to volunteer with The Ideas Partnership in Kosovo .At TIP’s Azure Learning Centre in Fushe Kosove , Roma and Ashkali children are watching intently, curious at the science experiments being shown to them by kind volunteer during Saturday Extra-Curricular activities, being helped by other volunteer teachers. They are also helping themselves to water on what is a blazing hot day , and snacks . These children, who have come due their love of learning, are able to develop their talents and curiosity in a way that is otherwise denied to them. This is because the Roma Community in Fushe Kosove is one of the poorest in Kosovo. 

One boy whose home I visited ,Resul and his family of six, have to survive on his elder brother picking from rubbish to sell, which usually earns them 5 euros a day . This is a common form of employment in the community. With many children dropping of school early, and one third of girls getting married under the age of 16, people here are trapped in a cycle of poverty.

When I was seven, I first came to Fushe Kosove and came to visit baby Elham and his 8-member family in an overcrowded one room shack. The Ideas Partnership was then a new charity, and had to rent scruffy rooms in someone’s house in order to carry out its activities. Fortunately, things have changed for the better in Fushe Kashove. Elham and his family, with the assistance of TIP supporters , now live in a clean, comfortable new house. He regularly attends Saturday Extra Curricular activities at the now bright and spacious Azure Learning Centre, and watched with excitement the scientific experiments being conducted. He told me of his enjoyment of school, and in particular of science.

The Ideas Partnership is not as large and well -known as some charities but it’s work is nevertheless equally valuable in helping people in poverty. Since TIP are a small charity , you can be assured that donations to TIP are always going directly to help the people of Fushe Kosove. Although, this learning centre is not complete and the upper floor is unusable , your kind donations have made the ground floor of the Learning centre functional so that children like Elham are able develop their skills and stay in school for longer.

Almost 6 months have passed since the opening of the doors of the Azure Learning Center in Fushë Kosovë and since that period many beneficiaries have held activities and benefited in different ways. Although almost half a year has passed in terms of the continuation of the works on the second floor, there has not been any great progress due to the lack of funds.

Until now, the second floor has been left with rough construction, the pipes for solar heating have been placed, as well as the leveling has been laid. A few months ago, some students from the MARA Foundation visited our center and they bought 5 doors for the second floor, but we need 2 more.

We also need a lot of other work to be done to finalize the work on the second floor, such as the floor, walls, ceilings, roof, electrical installations, installation for water and sewerage, as well as installation for heating and ventilation, as well as external facade and kitchen.

As it was planned that for a short period of time all activities will be held only on the first floor of the center until all the works on the second floor are completed. Activities in the center are being held regularly, but the limitation of space is making the process very difficult.

For Labinot, who is a regular participant in the Science Activity, but also for many others, it is very important to finish the works on the second floor as soon as possible, to start holding the activities there because every Saturday when they are having an activity, they have to hold the activity in the kindergarten spaces since the class is busy with other students from extracurricular activities.

We sincerely thank all those who have donated even 1 Euro for the construction of this center and we are forever grateful, and we strongly request all those who wish to make changes in society through their money to donate for the completion of works on the second floor because these children, young people and these women really need these spaces.

Donor, thank you very much!

With love,

THE IDEAS PARTNERSHIP

After 557 days since the beginning of the work for the educational center of the Azure communities in Fushe Kosova, it has finally been opened, although not completely, let's say half way there. All this was possible thanks to the help of local and international donors, foreign embassies and NGOs. A total of 224 individuals, companies, donor, foundations have donated and all these donors have enabled the dream of more than 300 children, young women, who will follow the activities offered by the Azure learning center, to come true.

December 19th was a very special day for all the staff of The Ideas Partnership but also for all those who will benefit from this learning center because their dream has become a reality from this center of hope for children and their families. For Hysni, who is the first worker in the organization, this was just a dream come true. He turned to Elizabeth who is the co-founder of the organization and said "Have you ever thought that after 11 years of work we will sit in the new center and we will welcome visitors in a center that is only ours, without worrying about rent or other things".

Meanwhile, for Xhevahire, who is a regular participant in the activity of the reading club, this new center is very important for her. She said "Now that we are in the new center and we will keep the activity here, it will stimulate us even more to come and read different books together with my peers."

On this day of joy for all of us, we also had friends and colleagues who came and visited us and saw closely the activities that were being held starting from kindergarten, parenting classes, health classes, reading club and young leaders as well as the spaces of the new center and saw that thanks to their donations this miracle could happen.

The visitors were from the most diverse, starting from the Ambassador of the Netherlands Carin Lobbezoo, the Ambassador of England in Kosovo Nicolas Abbott, various representatives of institutions from the central and local level, representatives of various organizations and other individuals and representatives who expressed interest in cooperating with us in the future.

Despite the fact that the new Azure learning center is open we still need a lot of work because only the first floor is functional and we still need tools to finalize the complete works on the second floor.

We wish very much that there will be people interested in donating for the completion of the works on the second floor, as they have donated so far for me to finalize these works, while all those who have donated so far are all the beneficiaries and we are very grateful and thankful.

With love,

THE IDEAS PARTNERSHIP

More than 480 days have passed since the first works began at the Azure Center and great progress has been made. During the past months, 10 workers from these communities had the opportunity to be employed for the completion of the work.

With your donations, other companies have come to install the water, electricity and central heating pipes, and the flooring has been laid. We are so excited to be planning our move to the Centre at the beginning of November, the fulfilling of a dream

All the staff members are very happy when we go to the centre and see some new changes. For Sami, who works in the centre as the extracurricular activity leader but is also a beneficiary of our bursary programme, the new centre is very important. He says, "The development of extracurricular activities will be easier and the working environment will be better. There will be a new energy for us workers as well as for the children. We are looking forward to moving and carrying out our work and activities in a more stimulating and creative environment”.

The Azure centre will not only be a place of hope for all those children, young men and women, mothers and fathers, but it will also be a place where they will dream and achieve their own and their parents' dreams.

Gzimi, who attends our daily kindergarten, says, "I’m happy to be going to the new centre soon because there is more roomto play with my friends there."

This Sunday, September 25, young men and women, staff members and volunteers from the community participated in the Prishtina Marathon to raise funds so that the works for the new centre can be completed as soon as possible.

The joy and enthusiasm with which all these participants ran was a taster of the feelings they’ll have when the doors of the Azure centre are opened.

Not long now! We thank you for enabling us to reach this beautiful and important moment for all of us.

With love,

THE IDEAS PARTNERSHIP

A year has flown by very fast since the first bulldozer prepared the land and the foundation trenches were dug. It's been a year with plenty of work, commitment, and challenges, and we've been grateful to all those who have supported us. After a break in the building work for several months, a new company has picked up the final stages of construction and we have glimpses of the blue sky ahead and are beginning to believe that our centre will become a reality later this year.

We are particularly happy that the Swedish Embassy in Kosovo has offered to support the completion of work in our new centre, through a contract we've now signed with the Danish Refugee Council. With this help, not only will we be able to open the doors to the Azure centre very soon, but we're able to support members of the community in Fushe Kosove to access the labour market. Workers from families who live near the centre will be on site in the coming weeks contributing their muscle and skills, and earning a fair wage as well as experience on this flagship project.

By the end of the summer, we hope to be making an opening announcement and inviting every single person who has contributed to come together to mark the opening of the Azure centre. 

The faces we see in the community in Fushe Kosove reflect a bright future. Thank you for opening up these horizons!

With love,

The Ideas Partnership