Blood feud…sounds such an old topic but yet true and tragically real in some places

I‘m fundraising for Liljana, the teacher who voluntarily visits the isolated families in blood feud, to provide free home education for their children and support them. She is the only person they see, she has become the only light of hope and their hero!

North Albania is known for blood feud issues that date back many years ago and remains an issue in many families who still live by Canun laws.

This fundraising is for the children who unfortunately suffer blood feud because of what their fathers/grandfathers done or even they were born being in blood feud and destined to be locked for a lifetime.

Their home doesn’t feel like home, but prison. They don’t know what a normal life is, what quality time with family is…they live to survive.

So pure and innocent but yet terrified to face the light from the window, unable to attend school, no access to education, hopeless for the future, because they are unfortunate and death is at their doorstep.

There’s a little boy called Arber, 9 years old, from Shkoder borough, whose family has been locked for 23 years. He lives in terrible house conditions; never went to school; never had a toy; and his favourite food is pasta…all he asks for is to get him some pasta. You can see the deep sadness on his face but yet a beautiful heart through his eyes.

I took the initiative to do this fundraising, because this topic is very close to my heart and every time I hear about it, my heart breaks into pieces, just like bullets.

I was born and raised in a family that suffered blood feud, long time ago, where men had to suffer long sentences in prison, and where male children were destined a lifetime sentence locked in the house. Now, I live in the UK and I have the freedom. I have a five months old son. And being a mother, makes my heart break hearing about little Arber in Shkoder , who is innocent and so fragile and cannot have the freedom, cannot live his life as he deserves to.

Liljana, the teacher who voluntarily visits all the isolated families, goes to Arber’s house to teach him to read and write. Teacher Liljana is a hero for them, she commutes for hours to get to their houses that are located in small villages far in the mountains and yet she does it with some much love for these little ones.

I wish we could all get together to support this cause and bring a little light into these children’s homes. Together with Shpresa Programme and teacher Liljana, we will buy laptops and all the necessary tools to help Arber and other children get access to education and online information, so they can learn and entertain, hoping that one day they will be able to open the doors freely and relive their lives in freedom.

We would very much appreciate any help…everything counts and makes a difference. Together we can make the difference!