In Albania, Changing Lives Through Education

At Nehemiah Gateway, we undertake a variety of continuous projects, ranging from physical therapy to private schooling. Our primary mission is to assist those in need, addressing their challenges in whatever way we can.

One of our key initiatives is a private K-12 school, where we strive to provide a well-rounded, holistic education. Our focus is on nurturing each student's intellectual, emotional, social, physical, artistic, and creative potentials.

To complement this effort, we integrate our food distribution project, which supports underprivileged families, into the school’s social work curriculum. This collaboration teaches students the value of helping those less fortunate and the importance of giving back to their community.

As part of the social work project, students are encouraged to raise funds through their families or local businesses. These funds are then used to purchase essential items such as rice, pasta, oil, and flour for distribution packages. A small group of students accompanies our social workers on delivery days, directly engaging in this outreach effort.

Although these students live in Albania, many have not encountered the extreme poverty found in remote villages. Participating in the deliveries is often an eye-opening experience, offering them a new perspective and reshaping how they view the world. These experiences provide an education that extends far beyond the classroom.

Let me give you brief introduction to Franko.

Franko was a student at our Amaro Tan school when he was younger. Being part of the Roma community in Albania, he often felt discriminated against and attending school at Amaro Tan allowed him to be in his own community, amongst familiar faces and friends. After going through the program at Amaro Tan for a number of years, Franko finished his secondary education and moved away from Pogradec to pursue a univeristy degree.

With the influcence of his cousin, Franko decided to study to be a social worker largely because there are very few social workers that are actually from the Roma community. He agreed that he would be able to do a lot of good in helping his community. Often, social workers can be mistrusted by tight-knit communities, but Franko knew that being a part of the community would help him gain their trust.

Franko has since returned to Amaro Tan to work as a social worker. He spends much of his day working with and helped the poor and elderly around the city. However, he spends a large portion of his time at the Amaro Tan school (where his office is located) and has become a role model for many of the children there. For children that see very few options for their life, Franko shows one more. 

Franko's story is just one example of the kind of life that can be found when children from this community are given an opportunity. In the most ideal situation, Amaro Tan has a compounding effect. Franko's life was affected by being there, and now he's in a position to have a similar effect on dozens of more children.

To see a video of Franko's story, please click the link below.

Links:

• Click here to watch Franko's story.