Widows Fund Fushe Kosova

Standing on the doorsteps of her newly built house, Xhevahire is waiting for us to pay a visit to her family. Their house was built recently by a charity working with the Municipality of Fushe Kosove towards helping Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian families fight poverty. It is obviously a big relief for everyone in this family now that they have a shelter which cannot be threatened by the weather conditions, a risk they had to face every day in their older house.

Xhevahire was 44 years old when her husband, Faik Faci, died in 2014, leaving her to raise their three daughters all by herself. Little did she know about the struggles she would face throughout years having to take care of her family alone.
‘My husband was a hardworking man, he had suffered from hypertension and diabetes for years’ – says Xhevahire. Not being able to afford the medical treatment, he passed away later in 2014 leaving his family in poverty and despair. This was devastating for Xhevahire, who was already seeking medical help for herself, considering her condition as a person with special needs. She was depressed for a long time after her husband died. She wasn’t able to completely look after herself or her daughters. They were all surviving with 75 euro per month given from the government as a disability pension. That pension is still running, along with the medical supplies for Xhevahire from The Ideas Partnership.

The youngest girls in the family are Shkurta 12, and Naxhije 15. They were at school when we visited the family, so we couldn’t see them this time, but we learned a lot about them listening to their mother on how passionate they are about school. The oldest one, Sherife, born in 1999, has just been accepted as a teacher assistant in the kindergarten of The Ideas Partnership in Fushe Kosove. Sherife feels accomplished in her new role as an assistant as she loves working with the kindergarten children on daily basis, it brings her joy!

Xhevahire is happy seeing her daughters being successful in school and life. She keeps recalling the tough moments of her being alone, with no help, thinking on how to move on in life with three little girls and nothing to hold on to. But things are slowly changing for better. And she feels grateful to all those who help her overcome the difficulties she faces.

Without your generous support, Xhevahire wouldn’t be able to make Sherife, Shkurta and Naxhije’s dream of finishing school come true. It is you, who's making this possible for them. It is you, who’s giving them a chance at changing their lives. It’s you, who’s giving them hope!