A Voice of Hope

Monday, July 29, 2013

Fatjona is only one of thousands of children with disabilities living in Albania. According to the Observation Office in Albania, there are 17,786 children with different abilities. For a number of different reasons, most of them live in poor conditions. In general, people see their disabilities and not their abilities. In many cases, they are lonely because they don’t have any friends. Oftentimes they are mostly confined to the home as their families are often ashamed to be seen with them in public.

All these things together are not good for these children. They grow up without, full of fear, anger and insecurities. Their spirits are broken and empty. They seek love and comprehension to fulfil this emptiness. According to the Ministry of Education and Science (MASH), in 2010, only 2,611children (less than 15 per cent of the total number)with different abilities attended school.

It’s strange that in 2013 people continue to think that a disabled child isn’t capable of anything. This mentality leads to their exclusion from society which isn’t fair to these children or society. These children have dreams, hopes and expectations like everyone else. They like to go to school, to have friends, to share dreams and secrets with each other.

This was what Fatjona did, she proved to everyone that dreams can come true, that she is equal in every point of view with other children. While she might depend on a wheelchair for her mobility, her voice needs to outside support. Recently, she gave a recital and she was very happy to see that she is surrounded by a lot of people that take care of her and support her.  “When I sing, I forget everything. The music makes me feel equal to everyone in this room,” she says.

The directress of Dobraçi’s school, Mira, says: “she is a special child, quiet and respectful. Every time we enter the class she tries to stand up, just to respect us. We all do our best to help her to feel equal with [the] other students.” Her family is also very supportive. Even though they work, both parents find time for Fatjona and try in every possible way to make her life normal.

Fatjona is very lucky, she has a lot of friends that help her in her daily routine. They push her wheelchair and try to make her comfortable in every moment. They were her best support in this recital that was organized by World Vision, Dobraçi’s school, QKF Shkodër( the cultural centre for children of Shkodra) and the community.

Fatjona knows she is lucky to have all these people around her, and that not even for a moment does she feel that she is different.  At the end of her recital, her friends had a special surprise for her; they all gathered together and helped Fatjona to stand on her feet. Although she stood for just a moment, it was the most exciting moment for her. Her eyes were filled with tears and she said that she is not given up, not even for a moment, and that one day she is going to stand on her feet by herself.

All the public stood up, not only for Fatjona  but for all the children who are not as lucky as she is to have the support that she has had. For a child with different abilities, it is very hard to do something like Fatjona did. Although they might dream about doing something similar, very few will have the opportunity to make their dreams a reality.

Fatjona has been part of World Vision’s programme since 2009. She is a regular participant in World Vision’s activities and, as a sign of her gratitude to World Vision; she sang a wonderful song dedicated to the organization’s staff members.

At the end of the recital, everyone got emotional, even Fatjona’s teacher, professor Haxhi Tagani. When asked about Fatjona, he was speechless. But, he didn’t need words, the look in his eyes said more than a hundreds of words.

At the end of the recital, those who witnessed what Fatjona did left with the belief and hope in their hearts that one day a recital like this won’t be news anymore, but rather something common, normal and artistic—focusing on the artists only for their abilities, rather than their disabilities!

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