Releasing potential can bring change to families living in poverty in Albania

From failure and frustration to a hopeful future: a new business for a talented mother

21st November 2024
A woman smiling while sewing with a machine

The frustration of in-work poverty

“Life became darker and darker, and we felt powerless to do anything about it.”

Drilona, 39, and her husband Edison, 46, live in the suburbs of Durres, Albania, with their three children. Despite working hard, picking up jobs here and there, they struggled to afford even the essentials. In-work poverty is common here, where the cost of living is high and average wages are low.

Drilona said, “We used to get so frustrated at our circumstances. Edison and I were feeling like we’d failed as parents for not providing enough for our children.”

The family was enrolled on Mission Without Borders’s family sponsorship programme, and began receiving regular practical support as well as encouragement and emotional support.

A business plan for a burdened family

Niko, our local coordinator, said, “I remember our very first visit with Drilona and Edison and their children. We could sense straight away the emotional burdens that the parents were carrying. Ester, the youngest child, had just been born, and they were finding it very hard to meet their children’s basic needs. 

“Drilona is very talented at sewing but with a newborn, she didn’t have the capacity to take on a job.”  

"I remember our very first visit with Drilona and Edison and their children. We could sense straight away the emotional burdens that the parents were carrying." Niko

Noting how gifted Drilona was at sewing, Niko came up with a business plan and proposed it to the couple. Drilona would open a shop that would sell new children’s clothes as well as offer mending services. Both Drilona and Edison liked the idea.

Niko said, “Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, we found a small place that was suitable and supplied Drilona with clothing, a professional sewing machine and other necessities, to get started.”

Sponsorship support helps break the cycle of poverty

The business was a great success and brought the family together. Drilona sews and sells clothes, and Edison purchases goods and supplies for the shop, as well as helping to support the children.

Drilona said, “Without your generosity, we would still be living in poverty and stuck in the same emotional state I was in when Niko first met us. Thanks to your kind support with the self-sufficiency project, my husband is more involved in the family, especially with our teenaged boys.” 

Help a family out of darkness into a sustainable future by sponsoring a family today.