Balkan Day 6 - Journey to Albania

Today, after our last breakfast at 09:00, we set off towards Albania. After about an hour of driving, we reached the Albanian border, where unfortunately it took us over an hour to pass through, as each passport was individually checked. After a short drive, we stopped in Pogradec. There, we were greeted by two members of a German foundation who joined us in visiting a Roma and Gypsy school. The German foundation has established itself in Albania to help poor and disadvantaged people, particularly in the field of education. In addition to the Roma school, they have many other locations that promote the goal of a well-rounded education. After a 10-minute walk through an older and poorer neighborhood, we arrived at the Roma school with our guides. We were immediately greeted by happy, loving children's eyes, and the school's director welcomed us, in perfect English, to the school. He told us that the school currently has about 140 students who learn and play in two wooden school complexes. One complex houses the kindergarten and elementary school, while the other houses the upper classes up to the 9th grade. The younger students receive two warm meals each day, while the older students receive one. The school lasts for everyone until around 15:00. Then, they are either picked up by their parents or taken home by the school's transportation. The students do their homework at school because most of them do not have the means to do so at home. These children come from very difficult and poor families. The school, along with the foundations, try to improve the situations in the families through education and conversations with parents. It is simply unbelievable to hear that Roma girls are married at the age of 12 or 13, ruining their entire lives. The school actively tries to prevent this. We visited the school's woodworking workshop, where the children learn to create things with their hands. They saw, sand, and paint the figures. They learn to create something themselves and can achieve something in their future. None of the children will become bankers or lawyers, but the school strives to teach them something useful that they can use in their daily lives. It is very important to them to individually support the children in their abilities. For example, in music.

Speaking of music: we didn't miss the chance to sing a song for the children. The kitchen team and other helpers listened as well. We performed Ti Mama and Kwela Kwela. The highlight was that a few children were brave enough to dance with us. It felt amazing to be able to bring them genuine joy. We gathered for a group photo with the children on the school's football field. It was wonderful to smile together with all the ecstatic children and also to form the two-headed eagle, Albania's symbol, with our hands in front of the camera. Saying goodbye to the children was particularly difficult for us, as they hugged us and didn't want to let go. It was truly strange to leave them there and know that in a few hours they would return to their different home situations. This visit made us reflect and once again showed us how incredibly fortunate we are in Germany.

For lunch, we went to the campus of the German foundation Nehemiah Gateway, where the administration is also located. We were spoiled with rice, chicken, vegetables, fruit, and delicious dessert. In addition to a kindergarten, elementary school, and high school up to the 12th grade, the campus has a small college where you can study business and education. This campus attracts not only children and adults from different backgrounds but also those from African or South American countries who have the opportunity to gain an education here.

After a long bus ride, we arrived in Tirana, the capital of Albania, in the evening. We had dinner at a restaurant and then left the city and reached our youth hostel in an outer district after some initial orientation difficulties. We expected everything but not an accommodation made of bricks with a large garden for playing football and volleyball, along with its French host, Father Bertram.

After settling into our mattress dormitories, where at least eleven of us slept together, we fell exhausted into bed.