One family’s endless struggle with poverty in Albania
Soelto, 10, is the youngest member of his six-person family from Librazhd, in southern Albania, who call one small room “home”. In addition to living in extreme poverty, this fourth grade student has been suffering from eye problems since birth. Although it is hard for him to see, he has never let his eye sight or the fact that he must walk an hour to reach school to stop him loving school or learning.
While waiting patiently for him to return from school, we had the opportunity to meet Ilir and Navite, Soelto’s parents. Soelto, lives together with his parents and three older siblings in a small room furnished with a wood stove, (which doubled as a place to cook) two beds and a sofa. Like a flame about to go out because of lack of fuel are the dreams and the hope for a brighter future within the walls of the home, where they must struggle every day just to stay alive. The moisture in the air was palpable and the smell of mildew hung in the air, but the feeling of hopelessness was the one that permeated everything.
There was no sign of food in the house. The family will not eat today as they cooked the last package of pasta yesterday. The silence before the conversation started, was deafening.
“I don’t know what to say,” said Soelto’s mother, Navite. “We used to receive $56 (USD) a month as economic aid from the government, but since last February we haven’t received it. When we received that amount, we were able to make it until the end of the month. But now...I don’t know. No one lends to me anymore, not even a bag of flour because they know I can’t return it to them,” continues Navite.
As if dealing with hunger was not enough of a struggle, Navite and her husband are both sick. She has heart problems and is also a diabetic; her husband, Ilir, suffers from a nervous disorder. His hands tremble all the time. He can barely hold a cup of coffee. He used to work in a weapon dismantling factory and later he used to join his brother wherever he could find occasional job, but he is no longer capable of working. Navite found work in a fish factory in Elbasan, but could only work for one month because her physical condition. “I would black out and my body began to tremble. I was told I was diabetic. I couldn’t work anymore so I had to quit the job,” she says. Unable to work, there is little hope the parents will be able to help their children escape poverty.
Despite her conditions and everything she is going through, Navite doesn’t complain. She only sighs loudly.
Their only daughter, Aurela, 16, is embarrassed of her family’s living conditions. At first she was not willing to talk, but then in harsh voice said: “I don’t want to live here anymore. I am tired of sleeping and waking up again and again in this place.”
Soelto still dreams that one day he will be the one to save his family from poverty. “Don’t worry mama,” he says. “I will soon grow up, I will work and we will not live like this anymore.” His words bring hope to his mother.
When the tired Soelto arrives home from school, he finds nothing to eat. He does his homework, helps with chores around the house and goes to bed. Tomorrow he will wake up, put the same clothes back on and trek off, empty-stomached for another day of school. Although his belly is empty his heart is full of hope—hope for a better future, one when he will thrive and where his dreams come true.
Soelto’s family is only one of hundreds that lives in Kuturman village, in poverty. In Albania, 32.1 per cent of the population lives with less than $5 (USD) per day [1] and 34,000 children [2] live in extreme poverty. World Vision started to work in Kuturman in 2008 and has initially supported little Soelto, through the child sponsorship programme with optical glasses and free medical visits. In April, new beds and furniture made their lives a little more bearable. But the need is still huge and there is still a lot of work to be done.
In order to achieve sustainable development, World Vision works with communities to understand and address the causes of their poverty. One key way this is done is through the strengthening of the Child Protection System and equipping community members with necessary knowledge to advocate for improved and sustainable child protection services. To achieve this, World Vision is piloting a Home Visiting project which aims to create an opportunity for communities to connect and engage in supporting vulnerable households. Home visitors will be volunteers from the community and they will help empower children and families living in extreme poverty to improve their well-being and find the support they need to thrive.
During January, 64 families in Kuturman were interviewed. Visitors asked about their living situations, their knowledge regarding child protection and relationships (if any) they had with the social services. The home visitors will visit Navite’s family and others like them often in an effort to be their main line of support and help them build relationships with the appropriate social services. The families will be monitored regularly in order to understand their ongoing situations and to have the opportunity to refer and respond to child protection issues. The data will not only be used by World Vision, but also by the partners World Vision is collaborating in, enabling them to take the ownership of the cases and find the best solution for these families.
[1] World Bank 2015 report on Albania
[2] World Vision Albania 2013 Child Well - Being Report