Widows Fund Fushe Kosova

   Walking through Fushe Kosove in early June you would expect a cooler weather; not a 30-degree heat wave that was occurring. We took refuge in the shade to talk with Selime who agreed this heat in early June will make the long, scorching summer even more unbearable to cope with this year. On a hot day like this, it’s easy to imagine the hardships that the often-unsanitary water can have in Fushe Kosove which results in more health issues throughout the community.

 Selime is a 53-year-old mother to 3 daughters and 6 sons ranging from 35-19 years old. Living in Fushe Kosove for over 40 years, Selime describes the difficulties of living in such a poor community, specifically stating the prolonged poor state of the economy has made it extremely difficult to raise a family. Selime has a 10-year-old granddaughter also named Selime (a tradition that still dominates the community) who she solely cares for due to her mother leaving when she was a young child. Even though Selime has raised her family with her husband for 3 decades, unfortunately, last year he lost his battle to lung cancer. Fighting through the grief of losing her life partner, Selime now also must cope with the fact she is raising the family in this poor community all alone and has lost her main source of income, being her late husband.

  Even though many of her children are considered adults, due to the poor economy, work opportunities are so little that they still rely heavily upon her. One of the children works as a rubbish-picker earning only 4 euros per day- just 120 euros per month to support a whole family. Furthermore, this is the case for over 400 families living in Fushe Kosove who are working as hard as possible but still living in poverty. These hardships are also made even more difficult because one of Selime’s older children is disabled, meaning he needs constant care. Without the help of The Ideas Partnership, Selime would struggle terribly to cater to his needs, with TIP providing the family with necessary medical treatment etc. and helping to provide hospital visits for any families in the community who require them. Even though Selime talks of the difficulties of living in Fushe Kosove, she expresses that The Ideas Partnership have helped her continue to raise her family. TIP have provided continual food, school equipment and even prescription glasses for young Selime. Young Selime also loves the Saturday activities TIP has to offer, aiding her education. She takes part in activities such as Maths, Albanian language, and English. This is extremely important for Selime’s academic and social development. With the skills she learns through TIP activities it enables Selime to start mainstream school, increasing the opportunities available to her in the future.

  Your generous and continued support to the Widow Fund is helping so majorly to the lives of these families in Fushe Kosove. Selime’s family are so appreciative of every aspect of assistance they are given through The Ideas Partnership charity and with your kind donations we are really helping benefit the lives of over 400 families that are living in the poor community of Fushe Kosove.

It is already spring but today the weather resembled winter. It rained a lot and the temperatures were cool. When we arrived at the Rrustemi family, they were having their breakfast but willing to invite us inside and talk to us. Hadije is a 56-year-old lady living in Fushe Kosova together with other 6 members. The oldest of the family is Hadije, the youngest is again Hadije.

“But… wait! How is that possible?”.

Hadije has a granddaughter named after her.

“It indicates love and appreciation toward me. Firstly, we thought of naming the baby after my deceased husband, but it turned out to be a girl”, said Hadije.

She has 4 children, 2 sons, and 2 daughters. The oldest son Ramadan, 24, is married. He does not have a full-time job and works as a manual worker from time to time.

The only child attending school is Beqir, 18, a high-schooler. He was at school when we visited.

The girls, Aferdita (15) and Vjollca (10), do not attend school. Aferdita stopped her schooling at the 2^nd grade. At this age of hers, it means she has missed 7 grades at the elementary school. Now she would be going to high school.

“Why do not you attend school, Aferdita?”, I asked her.

“I would like to, but I lack a lot of school supplies. And due to our financial status, I had to quit.”

Vjollca is ill since her birth. She never attended school because of that. She and her mother on Saturdays attend the physiotherapy classes at The Ideas Partnership center in Fushe Kosova.

“The physiotherapy classes offered there has improved a lot her condition. Her right hand was very thin compared to the left hand. They are almost the same except that it lacks proper function. I have learned the moves from the physiotherapist at TIP’s center therefore sometimes I apply them to her at home…well, when she allows me” claimed Hadije.

“I am ill myself too”, continued she, as if she was about to burst into tears every time she spoke. “I do not use my medications regularly. They are expensive so I try to save them. The family medicine is free, thankfully, but for my pills I provide myself…. And the only income for our family derives from the social service.”

“We are very thankful to have The Ideas Partnership here. Besides helping my daughter with the physical therapy, they sometimes provide sustenance for us, car rides for health emergencies and whatever kind of help they can offer”, said Hadije, while expressing her gratitude for all of you who kindly donate to help families like hers.

Solely she accepted to take pictures of hers. The others were shy. Hadije accompanied us outside and greeted us warmly.