400 children with disabilities receive better education

Project funded by the Europian Union

Press release

400 children with disabilities receive better education

Tirana, April 29, 2016 - Emmanuel, an 8-year-old who cannot speak, lives in a village in the Elbasan area and now has a qualified assistant teacher at his school. He is lucky. Most of schools in Albania do not have assistant teachers even though they do have students with disabilities. The assistant teacher works with Emanuel using an individual educational plan (PEI) tailored to his specific needs. After almost two years of work, the improvement is obvious. Emanuel loves going in school, he has learned a lot and his classmates play with him all the time.  This attention given to Emmanuel has also affected his mother, Liljana, which tries to give her best to the school that opened its doors for her son. Liliana is now chairman of the board of parents.

Emmanuel is only one of nearly 400 children with disabilities who received better education because their schools were part of the "Strengthening the capacity of civil society to protect the rights of children with disabilities in Albania" project which was funded by the European Union, as part of the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) and implemented by World Vision, MEDPAK and Partners for Children. The project, which began in May 2014 and was officially closed today, on April 29, 2016. The ceremony was attended by Mrs. Bardhylka Kospiri,  vice Minister of Social Welfare and Youth, Mrs. Nora Malaj, vice Minister of Education and Sports,  Mr. Alessandro Angius, representative of EU delegation, Mr. Philip Harris, Operations Director of World Vision in Albania, Mrs.Gonxhe Kandri, Project Manager of “Partnerë për fëmijët” among others.

Emmanuel’s school is one of 10 schools, primarily in the districts of Dibra and Elbasan, where the project was implemented. "So far, we have two students with disabilities in our school and we have sent three other files for evaluation to the Regional Directory of Education,” said Vjollca Qosja, principal of the school Emmanuel attends. “We want these other three children to not stay at home. We want them to come to school, to get an education," she said.  

Representative of EU delegation emphasized the importance of human rights as Albania aims to be part of Europian Union. “Lots need to be done to ensure that children with disabilities are regularly enrolled in schools and vocational education system…Physical barriers in schools and educational institutes need to be removed; child protection units need to be strengthened and integrated with social services...All these are challenges that Albania needs to address to improve the life of its citizen and youth and in order to advance in the EU Accession Process”, said Mr. Alessandro Angius.

"When we started [the project] together with our partners, there were no assistant teachers in the area covered by the project; now there are 14 assistant teachers in Elbasan and in Dibra. Two years ago, we planned to help at least 200 children with disabilities in the area of Elbasan and Dibra. Now, that number has doubled. Our work with teachers, parents, and multidisciplinary groups has impacted around 400 children with disabilities In Elbasan and Dibra,” says Philip Harris, the operations director for World Vision in Albania.

Work with parents and families of children with disabilities was also an important factor in the success of the project. For this reason, the project was extended beyond Elbasan and Dibra into many other regions, from Tropoja to Vlora and Korca to Shkodra. The three organizations worked closely with parents, teachers and multidisciplinary commissions, joining forces towards a more inclusive education system.

Parents gained knowledge about their children’s rights to education, they learned a lot about the importance of education as well as many simple tips to help their children perform better in school. "Roel is excellent in school and, for him, is important to have our continued support each day. He loves going there and he adores playing football with his friends," says the father of a child with disabilities from Dibra.

World Vision, MEDPAK and Partnerë për Fëmijët have been working for years in the area of inclusive education in order to to enable every child with disabilities to go to school and be educated in a quality manner. In addition to the 10 schools in Dibra and Elbasan areas, the project also focused on the implementation of inclusive education and child protection laws. Based on the success of the above schools, the implementers along with teachers, children and parents, raised their voices at a national level.

For more information, please contact:

Elda Spaho Bleta

Senior Communications Advocacy Officer

World Vision in Albania & Kosovo

Office Phone: +355 4 22 58 333/4, Mobile: + 355 68 5015224

Email: elda_spaho@wvi.org

Main office address: World Vision, "Asim Vokshi" Street, USLUGA
Complex, Tirana, Albania
Mailing address: P.O.Box 1725 Tirana, Albania