Save the lives of 1500 premature babies in Albania

…but instead, I ended up in Timbuktu.

No parent plans for childhood illness or disability.

As a baby’s birth approaches, pregnancy is usually filled with hope — a joyful anticipation of new life and all the possibilities ahead. Like planning a dream trip to Paris, parents imagine what the future will hold and prepare their hearts for celebration.

But sometimes, life takes an unexpected turn.

During her first pregnancy, a close relative of mine received devastating news about her baby’s health. In a single moment, the future she had imagined disappeared. Instead of preparing for a healthy delivery, she was suddenly facing the possibility of losing her child — or walking a lifelong road of disability and medical uncertainty.

She often described it this way: “I planned for Paris, but I ended up in Timbuktu.”

Everything familiar changed. There was no way back to the life she had expected.

This is the reality many of the parents we serve in the NICU face every single day.

Over the last month, through our group therapy sessions for NICU mothers, we have walked with women standing in the fragile space between hope and despair, exhaustion and resilience, numbness and grief. We have watched mothers strengthen one another simply by sharing their stories, speaking encouragement, and realizing they are not alone in their suffering.

At the same time, the life-saving medical equipment made possible through generous donor support is giving doctors and nurses new tools to fight for these tiny, critically ill babies. Your support is already changing outcomes and bringing renewed hope to frontline medical teams.

Yet medicine alone cannot heal every wound.

Some families still face heartbreaking diagnoses and uncertain futures. That is why these support sessions matter so deeply. For the first time in Albania, mothers in the NICU are receiving structured emotional and psychological support as they navigate trauma, grief, fear, and the exhausting marathon of caring for a critically ill child.

And today, we are taking another important step forward.

We are launching “Heal the Healers” — group support sessions for frontline NICU staff. These doctors and nurses carry enormous emotional burdens every day. Through this program, they will receive tools to care for their own mental health, communicate more effectively, and better manage the intense stress and anxiety that accompany this work.

Your support is helping us care not only for fragile babies, but also for the parents who love them and the medical workers fighting for them every day.

Thank you for standing with these families in their hardest moments.

I have attached photos of some of the equipment your generosity has made possible.

Faithfully yours,
Lizzy

Links:

• Visit us on the web
• Follow our work on Instagram

Dear friend,

We are grateful for you and the way that your gifts have helped us to bring needed medical equipment to the NICU over the past year.  

The hospitalization of a newborn is one of the most traumatic experiences a family can face.

Together we can come alongside the parents and medical staff to lighten their heavy loads.

Parents frequently report symptoms of post-traumatic stress, depression, chronic anxiety, and difficulty bonding with their babies. Without support, these emotional wounds persist long after discharge.

Medical staff working in neonatal care confront repeated exposure to suffering, loss, and high-pressure decision-making. Over time, this results in emotional exhaustion, burnout, compassion fatigue, and increased staff turnover—seriously affecting the stability of care.

Currently, neither of the two neonatal intensive care wards in Albania, serving over 50 infants at a time, have a consistent psychological support system for either parents or staff, creating a critical gap in holistic healthcare.

We are reaching out to you, our generous community, to surround the "healers" - the medical workers and parents who care for these tiny infants around the clock. Our project will provide a licensed psychologist trained in trauma and crisis counseling to lead weekly sessions for parents of hospitalized newborns and neonatal medical staff. 

Together we can see:

• A significant reduction in anxiety, trauma, and depression among parents
  
  
• Decreased burnout and emotional exhaustion among medical staff
  
  
• Improved emotional climate within the neonatal unit
  
  
• Strengthened relationships between families and healthcare providers, and ultimately

• Enhanced quality and continuity of care for newborn patients

Will you join us today to support the frontline fighters saving the lives of these tiny babies?

Links:

• Mother and Child Hospital Foundation