A sponsor’s gift sparks hope for a better future with education

Lindita is an 11-year-old Egyptian girl that hopes to have an education one day and a bright future ahead of her.

Lindita is part of World Vision Albania’s child sponsorship programme, which since its inception in 2001has brought hope to children from all communities in Elbasan, located a one and a half hour drive away from the Albanian capital, Tirana. She has regular correspondence with her American sponsor who works for the United Nations.

One day her sponsor learned that Lindita desperately wanted to learn to use a computer.

Through the sponsorship programme, her sponsor sent Lindita’s family US$665 with which they bought Lindita a computer.

“I have learned a lot of things from the computer, like the programs to write a Word document and to change the colours of it, to use Excel, and to play games on the computer,” says Lindita smiling with pride from learning so many useful things.

I have learned a lot of things from the computerHer eyes shine at the thought of having a computer and learning many things from it. And not only has she learned many new things, but it has brought her a new hope–the hope that one day she will continue school and use the computer as part of her everyday life.

Lindita lives in Mlizë village, part of World Vision’s Elbasan Area Development Progamme (ADP). Her house is in a large building with only the basic necessities and the deep scars of poverty are written everywhere on the walls of the house.

Lindita’s family of five is very poor. Her father, Ilir, aged 33, is the only breadwinner in the family. He uses a very small truck to collect iron and metal, which he sells to provide for his family. Lindita’s mother, Shpresa, aged 32 is a housewife and takes care of the children, including Lindita, her sister, Leonarda, 12, and her brother Aurelio, 7.

“If Lindita’s sponsor hadn’t bought the computer for Lindita, we would never have had the chance to buy it,” says Shpresa with gratitude. “Not because we don’t want our children to be educated and to learn, but because we do not have the means to buy these expensive items.”

“Since Lindita received the computer, I noticed that she has become faster in grasping things,” says Matilda Omeri, Sponsorship Coordinator in World Vision’s Elbasan 1 Area Development Programme. “Her family is also thinking of more long-term solutions for the children’s education.” Lindita and her siblings have also participated in computer training conducted at their house.

“Using the computer has helped me with my English,” says Leonarda smiling.

Lindita likes to teach. She has taught her sister, Leonarda, how to use the computer and she would like to continue teaching. In her yet unshaped dream she would like to be a teacher.

“I like teaching,” she says shyly. “I will also teach my brother how to use the computer,” and a ray of joy passes through her smile.

Lindita is also poetic. She loves poetry and creates poems from time to time. Her dreams fly high while her eyes look at the computer monitor. Maybe one day she will be sitting in a big university classroom in front of a computer and her long lasting dream will come true.

She studies hard and her sponsor also hopes that she will continue her studies. Her family also wants for her to continue school.

“I wish with all my heart for my daughters to continue school,” says Shpresa with hopeful eyes.

I wish with all my heart for my daughters to continue schoolAlthough Lindita has the support of her family and of her sponsor, she still faces a daunting obstacle–that created by the community.

“It is a rare thing, if not impossible for a girl to continue school in the Egyptian community,” says Shpresa with sad eyes. “If we let Lindita continue school, the community will look at her as not a good girl and we don’t want that either,” Shpresa continues.

The barrier of this mentality is hard to break. It is inherited from generation to generation and women of the Egyptian communities have quietly accepted it. Shpresa herself has only finished middle school- just eight grades of education.

The main reason why women in the Roma and Egyptian communities do not continue education beyond the ninth grade is because they feel obligated to marry by the time they finish middle school. Within Roma and Egyptian families women are considered second-class citizens and their only duty in life is to marry and create a family.

Poverty also prevents Roma and Egyptian children from continuing their highschool education. Often there is not enough income to buy the books and school materials needed to attend school. Also, many Roma and Egyptian children have to work to support their families, leaving them no time and not enough income not only to dedicate to further education, but often sadly interrupting middle school. Consequently Roma and Egyptian children are more vulnerable to social plagues such as child labour and trafficking etc.

The Albanian Union of Education revealed in 2009 about 60% of children who drop out from school go to work. In the same year, the “Albania: Children Situation Analysis of 2009” by Human Development Promotion Centre said that children who are most vulnerable to trafficking include children who live in a hazardous environment, children on the street, and children who have abandoned school. The same source states that the average schooling of children from Roma and Egyptian communities is 4.02 and 5.05 years respectively.

Although Shpresa is sad about the reality in which they live, she is looking for ways to make education possible for her daughters.

“I would like to move from this area and not face this harsh mentality but let my daughters continue their education,” she says with hope.

Although in the gentle eyes of Lindita one sees a quiet girl, deep inside her heart lives a dream as determined as the mentality of her community–a dream of an education and a better future.

“I want to continue school and this computer has brought me hope for my dream”, she says.

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