Help Empower 300 Women in Kosovo through Education

Minirja is 40 years old, she lives with her husband Sadik, 48 years old, and three kids: son Milot 12 years old, and two daughters Mirsija 7 years old and Djellza 1 and a half years old.

Minirja is a quite noble woman, that can be seen by her face, and from the first meeting that I had with Minire I have noticed an open hearted in her face, and by talking she began to tell me that she has an adopted daughter and that for many others she provides temporary accommodation. This five member family lives with incomes that are earned by Minire’s husband working as taxi driver even though he is an economist by its profession. This is her story, in her words, of the children she has adopted (in Kosova we have many orphans due to the campaign of ethnic cleansing, so we need good mothers like Minirja to take good care of the kids).

“One day I was sitting near by television, when an program dedicated to abandoned children has started and I looked it with many attention and I could not remove those kids from my mind in any moment as they were not guilty for their destiny. I was praying for those kids that faith should smile to them someday by providing them new parents.

I have thought so much about those kids, wondering whether I as a mum could provide to anyone of those kids an opportunity to grow up in an family environment, and I was impatient waiting for arrival of my husband to discuss with him an opportunity of adopting a girl, husband accepted my proposal and we have decided to go to Gynaecology hospital in Prishtina to do so. We have talked with Dr. Lusha and she has directed us to the Center for Social Affairs in Drenas, where we have made an request for adoption of a two-year-old girl. The Center for Social Affairs established an Committee and they came into our house to inspect whether we can meet conditions for adoption of a child, after a while we gained the right on adoption, and we were able to adopt a foster child from Prishtina. Prior adopting that girl we had a couple of visits in order to introduce with a girl that will be a part of our family. After this adoption, I wanted to do more still. I have expressed a wish to provide foster care to other kids, since I and husband were too interested to help out those kids and we have decided so. The Committeee from Center for Social Affairs came again to see whether we meet conditions for accommodation. We have provided temporary accommodation to those kids to this day, seven of them. The foster children remain until they are adopted by new families. We have frequent visits with adopting parents. I am very happy when adopting parents come and want to adopt kids. Dhurata is a girl I cared for since she was 4 months old up to two and a half years old and I miss too much that girl. For Flora from the Skenderaj municipality I took care two years, and this girl was adopted by a French couple that are very happy with Flora. We contact them by postal letters. Her parents write to say that she makes a very good life and when she grow up she will learn Albanian language. To be honest, fact that she will learn Albanian makes me very happy by growing up since she is an Albanian from Kosova. To Diellza I am providing temporary care until her adoption by adopting parents and it is a satisfaction to see these kids smiling and playing with my kids. I often pray for abandoned kids to adopt in good families, and sometimes I am afraid even to think that I will be separated from Diellza, with her my kids are very happy. I am glad that my son and my daughter accepts these kids very well, and also mostly I am touched be being divided from these kids since it is not easy to separate from them. I am very happy when adopting parents accepts us to visit kids that we have taken care of them.

I believe that program from the WfWI Organization is a wonderful opportunity for women of my village, as a program that I have heard earlier but I waited for some time to become a member of this program.”