For equal rights, opportunities, and treatment
"I am deeply touched by poverty. I feel sad when I see my peers who cannot meet their basic needs. The world is unfair. Not everyone has the possibility to dress well, eat healthy and get an education," Dorthi from Korça shares with us with compassion.
On the World Day of Social Justice that we mark on February 20, the 17-year-old girl from the IMPACT club called for more sensitivity, equal rights, opportunities, and treatment for each person. She believes that institutions, organisations, and the society should scale up their efforts to address issues such as poverty, inclusion, gender equality, unemployment, human rights, and social protection.
"Even as a little girl, I was baffled by poverty. I would frequently give away clothing and school supplies to those classmates who were lacking such things. The engagement with the youth club has allowed me to become part of initiatives that had an impact on the community," says Dorthi, a member of one of the 11 youth clubs with which World Vision cooperates in Korça.
Over the last year, World Vision has worked with 2,700 young people from all over Albania to further train them on issues related to corruption, environment, violence, leadership, and employment.
Only the past year, Dorthi and her IMPACT club peers implemented 110 community initiatives. "Having the opportunity, voice, and support to change certain situation is a great achievement," the young girl states.
Stefan Simaku, Youth Development Facilitator, explains that the aim of his work with youth is to provide them with skills to become more efficient, to use critical thinking, and to apply their acquired knowledge in daily life situations.
Every year the UN selects a topic while marking this day to address and this year's topic was "A Call for Social Justice in the Digital Economy." Education is an area of special importance in addressing social justice. World Vision works to create friendly and inclusive school environments for all children and youth.
This ensures that students with different perspectives feel encouraged to have broad and analytical thinking and promotes broadening their capacities to fight inequalities.
"I have a solution to contribute to society. Today I have the IMPACT club, the best way to counter social media dependency. Tomorrow I will become a nurse so that I can serve everyone equally. What about you, do you have a solution?" Dorthi concludes her story, giving her message and challenging everyone on the World Day of Social Justice.