Miranda’s story: How World Vision changed my life

Miranda is a 15 -year-old girl from Novosele commune, Vlora Area Development Programme (ADP). She is part of the Roma minority there. 

Miranda loves school unlike any other child. Children in the Roma community often abandon education from an early age and their families are not especially keen on continuing with their education. Little boys are encouraged to collect scrap metal and other materials for sale and earn the living, while many girls marry very young, as soon as they reach the puberty. 

This community faces many problems, weighing from extreme poverty to deep mentality issues. But Miranda is so passionate about school. She stood up to her family and decided to continue her high school education and not marry like her friends. She is actually the only girl from this community who attends the high school, even though her family is very poor and cannot provide for her needs. Luckily, although Miranda is not a sponsored child, her two youngest siblings, Parashqevie, 14, and Endrit 12, are registered children in World Vision’s Sponsorship. 

Miranda’s parents earn their living doing seasonal jobs when they find them so their income and financial situation goes up and down. 

In this situation, World Vision staff made several home visits to support Miranda. World Vision talked with her parents about the importance of educations and helped Miranda with all the necessary school supplies; a brand new bag, pencils, exercise book, pens and a school uniform. Now Miranda has all she needs and she is doing well at school. She believes that education has the power to change her life and status. “My greatest wish is to continue to go to school,” she says. “It changed my life,” she admits.

Since October, Miranda has been a devoted member of World Vision’s Youth group in her village and a regular participant in all the activities organized in her area. With her Youth group, Miranda is taking lots of initiatives to raise awareness about importance of education for other girls so they can pursue it, just like her.

[Photo taken during one of the youth activities where Miranda is part of, the photo shows Miranda while preparing awareness materials to hand out for the passerby at her area]

Miranda said: World Vision has been a role model in her life and through it she found the power to follow her dreams and fight for them.

“It is beautiful to see such a persistent young lady break a mentality in her own community, change the pattern for other girls and face new days with promising strength. World Vision is privileged in being part of that,” says Jonilda Duka, World Vision’s Sponsorship Development Facilitator of Vlora ADP. “We will continue doing home visits and go case by case to make possible to give even other girls the opportunity to a better future through education,” she said. 

Miranda is not the only girl in World Vision’s focus. The devoted organizational team is still working with other cases of girls who are not attending school, trying to help them as much as possible by doing home visits and talking with parents about the importance of education, trying to change their mind sets and supporting them, even with school transportation and supplies where it’s needed.

World Vision is also working closely with potential parents of the area and with its Youth and Child Protection group members who are so much active in the area. World Vision has been working on this phenomenon for nearly five years and through a hard and dedicated work, more than 50 girls have been reached and are now pursuing education, just like Miranda. 

[Miranda her youth group friends and World Vision staff of Vlora after the ending of an awareness photo exhibition conducted by youth]