Mustard Seed Report

March 2001

Marian Ridout.

The Year 2000 inside the Orphanage in Tirana started off with a big balloon party. Almost all the kids stayed up till mid-night and instead of using a gun to say happy New Year (which is Albania tradition), we used balloons. We had a great time with the kids without any of the educators around us.

The projects that were going on in 1999 continued through till the middle of 2000.

Beside the good things and funny things we took a lot of time to visit the dentist. All of the kids had a check up and most of them got a filling The treatment was funded by AOM. The children all got brushing instructions and we gave them all brushes and tooth paste.

Every day we were teaching them things. We helped them a lot with reading, writing and mathematics. We filled a big gap in helping with schoolwork just by sitting down with them and explaining things to them and giving them time.

We had several emergency cases when we had to visit the hospital with some of the kids. All went well and there were no special occasions.

Most of the kids had a proper haircut before the summer time by a professional hairdresser again funded by us.

Once every fortnight we celebrated with who's birthdays fell in those two weeks. Many of the children have no idea when they were born, so this year, we went to lots of effort to make birthdays for them that they can keep for the rest of their lives. Just one very small thing maybe, but very big for them. All of them where looking forward to this celebration and we celebrated it with a proper meal, balloons and games. For a couple of hours the children were out of the institutional life and it was real special for them. During those times we realised how important it was for them to get out of this kind of life. We set up more activities by paying attention to individuals.

Adam found a house in the center of Tirana after living with the kids for two years. This was a great opportunity for us to get them into a different environment. Most weekends we took some of the kids to Adam's place to stay overnight and to do something special with them. They got more attention than other times and we saw how weak their mentality is. The children miss a lot of love and attention and especially during those weekends we came to see how bad it was for them.

We took these children as individuals to show them that they are important and special and that they have gifts. In the orphanage they are treated and kept like they are small and can't do anything on their own. How will they ever be able to do anything all the time they are taught that they are useless? Out of the orphanage the children were growing and became more joyful than ever. We have some great examples of boys you do not recognize anymore. Boys who have grown up simply because they are learning that they are special.: Suljan Dhukaj, Darvis Gazi, Xhemal Dule, Dorian Rrapaj are all very good egsamples.

We started a cooking course to show them that they can do things on their own. Twice a week we made a whole meal together and after making it together we ate it together too. They were given written instructions and only when they really wanted help we gave a hand. Most of the times it was going really well but of course there where times when we had to throw something away, but that happens in every place where people are working.

For all the children, Pizza parties were a big event. All of them were allowed to make a pizza with whatever they wanted on it. The dough was ready made for them and they put everything else on it. They cooked it and they ate something that they had made by themselves and it was for most of them a big adventure to do so.

Besides the cooking course we had dough decorations. The children were playing with dough and made wonderful things. They put a lot of thoughts into what they were doing and expressed themselves in very special ways.

We also had a wood work program were the children were able to use a hammer, screwdriver, saw, etc to make things like key rings and toys.

The summer time is always the most exiting time for the children. They have a holiday of three months and to keep them busy with all sorts of things isn't always easy. We spent many days at the beach with them playing in the water, Playing football and spending time with them talking about lots of things.

During the summer time our work changed slightly. We left the orphanage in Tirana. Not the children, but the building. The children simply came to us instead of us going to the children. We did a lot of work in Vlore at the baby orphanage. This was totally different work.

Helping in the kitchen, putting a water system in and taking care of the children. We spent a lot of time on the floor with the smallest children. Picking them up, going for a walk with them and sitting down with them making them feel good..

After the summer we helped the children who came to the house a lot with homework. The older boys came every day, not just for homework, but also for a little bit of attention. We tried to build up a relationship with them and were able to help them in many ways. Especially Genti Taci and Kujtim Nova. They got a lot of attention and we still see thee fruits growing in these boys. After the summer the older children from the orphanage had to leave the orphanage. They were spread out all over the country. Dorian Rrapaj, Bledar Dule and Erion Peci are still in Tirana. Marsela Brushi and Xhemal Dule and Klodiana Emini are in Gjirokaster while Pranvera Braho has gone to Italy while Romeo Shehu has gone to Korce. Our aim was to keep in contact with those children and to provide a safe environment for them especially during the weekends. You know, some stability in their lives. One of the other children who has gone home after the summer is Brunhilde Meta.

We started to pay more attention not just to the children in need in the orphanage but also on the street. The children on the street are in a big need of many things. Through a friend who had contact with those children we were able to share lots of things and helped with food.

Ware at the moment involved with the older children some of whom are in the orphanage, some in the vocational school and some are now in the technical school. Every weekend Dorian Rrapaj stays with us and is making very good progress with English and also in being in a proper family. He is beginning to understand what it is to be in a family and what it is to share and to love. Kujtim Nova, Renato Kodra, Ferat Minimi, Elton Agaj, Laureta Osmani, Genti Taci, Suzana Demuci are often at homee to talk and to eat. We are fighting for these childrens lives, so they will be happy persons without the feeling of having the stamp 'orphan' forever. The way we deal with them and encourage them is the most important for them.

We got more and more involved with the street children. Some of them have a sheltered house to stay. In this house we try to help the children by doing activities and playing with them. Those children are dealing with almost all the same problems as orphans do and to connect these two together is great. They help each other, share and play together.

Our main aim at the moment is to provide a shelter for those who are in a need and help the poor. To try to put a smile on childrens faces in different ways, shapes and forms. To share the pleasant things with them but also to be there for them in the difficult moments. A lot of our time is going into talking to them and building up a kind of trust. We are planting, watching those little plants grow and soon we will see them produce fruit.