In Albania, Changing Lives Through Education

Dear Friend--

 The weeks after Christmas were very cold in Pogradec this year— a damp cold that gets into your bones, cold that is only kept at bay by a hot stove that is constantly being fed with firewood. The people who are regulars at Amaro Tan’s soup kitchen are old, and firewood is expensive—and physically taxing to get.

Fortunately for them, Amaro Tan students are both energetic and compassionate. When the school arranged a firewood delivery for these vulnerable elders, the students did a lot of the legwork, helping deliver bundles of wood to homes all over the Pogradec area. Martin, an 8^th grader, helped carrying firewood, saying “I am very happy to be able to give my contribution in helping the elderly. It gives me a sense of satisfaction when I help others.”

It's not only the older students who get to help, though, On Earth Day this year, grades 1-6 got outside and cleaned up the streets around the school. I'm told they had a great time, and got a lot of satisfaction out of the impact of their effort.

Amaro Tan students get a lot of help themselves during their time at the school. The Amaro Tan project was devised in 1998 for students who don’t get a lot of support at home—or even enough to eat. Without education, poverty and hopelessness are more likely to become a permanent condition for these young people. At Amaro Tan, students not only learn, they get healthy meals, access to healthcare and the support of teachers who are dedicated to seeing them succeed.

The goal of this 100% donor-funded program is to empower a new generation to build dignified and sustainable lives in their communities. This includes helping others. Through volunteer projects, students learn that they have something to give, and that helping others feels great. These projects are always entirely optional, and there is no negative consequence for not participating. But students are usually glad that they did.

 As a donor to NG's In Albania, Changing Lives Through Education campaign on GlobalGiving, your generosity is helping young people to build positive futures for themselves, and to help others as well. 

This program is ongoing, and you can support it here. 

Gratefully yours,

Sarah Pita

Development Director, NG USA

Dear friend,

NG’s private Nehemia School is one of the top K-12 schools in Albania, and is largely self-sustaining through tuition fees. So why is it part of our GlobalGiving education campaign?

Nehemia School is an academic powerhouse, with 98% of graduates going on to university and 30% of those studying abroad. Not all academically gifted students in the Pogradec area come from families that can afford to pay tuition.  Making it possible for those students to join our school benefits us at least as much as it benefits them!

We also take in students who have a particular need for the nurturing atmosphere of the school. Nehemia School has small classes and faculty who mentor and genuinely care about each student. The services of NG’s clinic, including social workers and therapists and a robust program of free humanitarian and medical aid, are readily available in the building next door. This supportive environment goes well beyond what Albanian public schools typically provide.

For young teens in crisis, access to this environment makes all the difference. Dea (not her real name) is a sixth grader whose mother was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer and was subsequently abandoned by Dea’s father. With almost no resources, her mother asked if Dea could go to Nehemia School, so that she would have support at school in dealing with what looks to be an inevitable tragedy.

Aron (not his real name) is in fifth grade, and lives with a single mother with a chronic medical condition. They live in poverty. Aron is a smart, entrepreneurial boy, and sells wildcrafted nuts and teas in town to supplement their meager income. He has tremendous potential—and is also tremendously at risk of being recruited to criminal activity in the absence of mentors and role models.

In cases like these, the nurturing environment at Nehemia School is truly life-saving. And that is why we include these scholarships in our fundraising.

This campaign is ongoing, and you can support it here.

Gratefully yours,

Sarah Pita

Development Director

NG USA

PS: All of the pictures accompanying this report were taken in 2019 at Nehemia School. This is what our students, teachers, and classrooms look like-- although now the students wear face masks and sit farther apart.