Summer time in Fushe Kruja city- 17 July 2013
In summer time Fushe Kruja is
emerged in a very hot weather and polluted environment. When you get out of the
bus you feel like you have just been dropped near a metallurgic factory. The
air is hot and very hard to breathe; it smells of gas, oil and polluted water.
In summer, Fushe Kruja has very
high temperatures and a few places where people can find fresh shadows. Parks
are inexistent, trees are rare and the river that passes by is polluted by
garbage and city sewage water. The Roma children of Fushe Kruja find a way to
fresh up by going to the river and play there with each other.
This activity gives them a lot of
infections and that is why ADRA medical staff goes there often and talk with
children and parents to avoid the river water as much as they can. In two
years, ADRA staff has managed to convince many families of the community not to
use the river water but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done in
this aspect.
Reflect project is closing the
first phase of “Social training for Roma men, women and children in Fushe
Kruja”. It has been a really good year in terms of activities, relations,
community collaboration and positive results. For ADRA staff this is just the
beginning because now it is the moment when problems, challenges and solutions
are better identified. Now, it is the moment to start working more intensively
with the community, involving it in public activities, engage community leaders
in raising awareness on common issues, and be persistent in the integration of
Roma children in the public schools of Fushe Kruja.
During these two months, May -
June 2013, ADRA staff has worked closely with the Roma parents to make them
aware about the importance of taking children to school.
It has been difficult to
make them listen because of their urge to go to work as it is summer time. As
our readers already know, Roma people start their journey at the beginning of
April and they try to work as much as they can to collect money for the winter.
Summer is the most lucrative time
of the year because of the enhanced commerce of second-hand clothes and
collection of plastics and metal scrubs. Another way of earning money in summer
is the fortunetelling at the beach. Many Roma women, wearing suggestive
clothes, go in touristic areas, especially at the beach and practice the hand
reading to tourists.
In Albania it is not allowed to practice
such thing but for the Roma women this represents the most lucrative job they
can ever have. So, during summer season, there are Roma women who earn considerable
amounts of money going mostly at the beaches of Durres and Vlora.
It has been a real challenge to
take women to the ADRA centre these two months because of their summer and
house work. That is why ADRA staff tried to reach them by going house to house
and paying visits which were very much appreciated.
In June, ADRA staff organized the
first Roma children’s camp in order to motivate and prepare them for the next
schooling year. 25 children of 5-8 years old and 8 girls of 11-14 years old
were present to the camp together with 3 women from the Roma community, 1 woman
from the nearest neighborhood and ADRA staff who managed the camp activities.
It was great to see how women got along together, working and collaborating in
everything. Children were so happy to have this opportunity that couldn’t stay
on their feet. They were very energetic, full of positive emotions and
motivated to learn and listen.
This was a great first experience and ADRA
staff hopes Roma children understand the aim of this camp: motivate children to
go to school because together with it comes friendship, education and many
other good experiences, just like the ADRA summer camp.
