Widows Fund Fushe Kosova

In Fushë Kosovo and Janjeva, many widowed women are carrying the responsibility of raising their children on their own, facing daily economic insecurity, limited support, and ongoing challenges. For many of them, even the most basic needs—food and hygiene—are a constant concern.

Through the Widow Fund – Fushë Kosova project, each month we support three different families in Fushe Kosova and Janjevo from the community with food and hygiene packages. These packages include essential items that help families get through the month with greater dignity and peace of mind.

When our team delivers the packages, we often hear stories that remind us why this work matters so much. Mothers doing everything they can to save for their children’s education, women who have lost their husbands but not their strength to move forward, and children learning that solidarity and care still exist.

A monthly package does not solve every problem, but for these families it means one month without hunger, one month with less stress, and one month with renewed hope. It allows a mother to focus more on her children, rather than worrying about how she will provide the next meal.

This impact is only possible thanks to our donors, who choose each month to stand with some of the most vulnerable women and children. Because of your support, we are creating a chain of solidarity that reaches new families every month and strengthens the community as a whole.

Every donation is more than material support—it is an act of care, dignity, and hope.
Thank you for being part of this journey and for changing lives, one family at a time.

My friend Sarah and I travelled from Wiltshire in the UK during our summer holidays to volunteer at The Ideas Project; supporting the summer school programme with music and art projects. During our time there we were asked to visit some family’s benefitting from TIP’s work in the Ashkali, Egypyian and Roma community at Fushe Kosovo. When we met Serbeze, a mother and grandmother supported through The Widow fund, some of her first words to us were:
“Thank you for not forgetting me.”
These simple words carry the weight of her daily struggles, and the comfort that your donations to the widow’s fund bring.

Nourishment in Hard Times
Thanks to your support, Serbeze has received essential foods including macaroni, rice, oil, soups, and sugar. She told us how difficult life had been before this help arrived—“Very difficult, we didn’t have anything.”
Now, through the donation rota, she can rely on supplies of basic groceries. These allow her to feed and nurture her growing family - currently including her beautiful 3 month old granddaughter and the baby’s parents. She makes them traditional dishes like bourek that she remembers from her family’s table. These recipes have been passed down through generations, and being able to prepare them again brings both comfort, dignity and a legacy to pass on.

More Than Food
For Serbeze, the support is about more than a meal. It is the reassurance that she is not alone, that her struggles are seen, and that someone cares.
She told us, “When I received the funding, I felt very good.” That sense of relief—knowing that she could cook, share food, and keep family traditions alive—was a powerful reminder that donations make a real difference in daily life.

Building Hope Together
Each package of rice or oil, every bag of sugar or macaroni, brings with it more than calories. It carries dignity, memory, and hope. In communities where many widows face isolation and hardship, these gifts become symbols of solidarity.
Serbeze’s smile, when she spoke of being remembered, is proof of the impact your generosity makes possible.

Looking Forward
Your kindness continues to change lives. In Serbeze’s home, we met a large connected extended family of adults and children and a full plate and familiar recipes connect her to her roots. In her heart, it stirs gratitude and strength to carry on.
Thank you for sustaining not only families like Serbeze’s with food—but also their sense of hope.