In Albania, Changing Lives Through Education

Let me give you brief introduction to Franko.

Franko was a student at our Amaro Tan school when he was younger. Being part of the Roma community in Albania, he often felt discriminated against and attending school at Amaro Tan allowed him to be in his own community, amongst familiar faces and friends. After going through the program at Amaro Tan for a number of years, Franko finished his secondary education and moved away from Pogradec to pursue a univeristy degree.

With the influcence of his cousin, Franko decided to study to be a social worker largely because there are very few social workers that are actually from the Roma community. He agreed that he would be able to do a lot of good in helping his community. Often, social workers can be mistrusted by tight-knit communities, but Franko knew that being a part of the community would help him gain their trust.

Franko has since returned to Amaro Tan to work as a social worker. He spends much of his day working with and helped the poor and elderly around the city. However, he spends a large portion of his time at the Amaro Tan school (where his office is located) and has become a role model for many of the children there. For children that see very few options for their life, Franko shows one more. 

Franko's story is just one example of the kind of life that can be found when children from this community are given an opportunity. In the most ideal situation, Amaro Tan has a compounding effect. Franko's life was affected by being there, and now he's in a position to have a similar effect on dozens of more children.

To see a video of Franko's story, please click the link below.

Links:

• Click here to watch Franko's story.

Back when the Amaro Tan School first started, there were very few educational options for children from the Roma community. A community that is marginalized and often experiences many levels of racism and xenophobia. When attending public schools, Roma children would be looked down on, told they didn’t know anything, and were often expected to fail.

At Amaro Tan, NG Albania makes a conscious effort to integrate all of the children from any background. Whether a child is Roma, Egyptian, or even Albanian, the teachers view them no different than the other children. They aren’t separated based on their ethnic background. Everyone plays, learns, and eats in the same place. In addition to being taught educational basics, the students are Amaro Tan are taught to respect and love one another despite their differences.

What this has done for many children is teach them that they are worthy. They aren’t counted out just because of the community in which they were born. They have as much potential as every other child in the room and just the color of their skin does not determine how they should be treated.

This project is ongoing, and you can donate HERE.

Warmly,

James Leithart

Communications Director, NG USA