By Debbie Matthews | Voulenteer
My friend Sarah and I travelled from Wiltshire in the UK during our summer holidays to volunteer at The Ideas Project; supporting the summer school programme with music and art projects. During our time there we were asked to visit some family’s benefitting from TIP’s work in the Ashkali, Egypyian and Roma community at Fushe Kosovo. When we met Serbeze, a mother and grandmother supported through The Widow fund, some of her first words to us were:
“Thank you for not forgetting me.”
These simple words carry the weight of her daily struggles, and the comfort that your donations to the widow’s fund bring.
Nourishment in Hard Times
Thanks to your support, Serbeze has received essential foods including macaroni, rice, oil, soups, and sugar. She told us how difficult life had been before this help arrived—“Very difficult, we didn’t have anything.”
Now, through the donation rota, she can rely on supplies of basic groceries. These allow her to feed and nurture her growing family - currently including her beautiful 3 month old granddaughter and the baby’s parents. She makes them traditional dishes like bourek that she remembers from her family’s table. These recipes have been passed down through generations, and being able to prepare them again brings both comfort, dignity and a legacy to pass on.
More Than Food
For Serbeze, the support is about more than a meal. It is the reassurance that she is not alone, that her struggles are seen, and that someone cares.
She told us, “When I received the funding, I felt very good.” That sense of relief—knowing that she could cook, share food, and keep family traditions alive—was a powerful reminder that donations make a real difference in daily life.
Building Hope Together
Each package of rice or oil, every bag of sugar or macaroni, brings with it more than calories. It carries dignity, memory, and hope. In communities where many widows face isolation and hardship, these gifts become symbols of solidarity.
Serbeze’s smile, when she spoke of being remembered, is proof of the impact your generosity makes possible.
Looking Forward
Your kindness continues to change lives. In Serbeze’s home, we met a large connected extended family of adults and children and a full plate and familiar recipes connect her to her roots. In her heart, it stirs gratitude and strength to carry on.
Thank you for sustaining not only families like Serbeze’s with food—but also their sense of hope.
By Almedina Ajvazi | Coordinator of Private Donations
By Almedina Ajvazi | Coordinator of Private Donations
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