The Cycle of Poverty of Albania

Klodi, 10, is a smart boy with a sweet smile and big dreams for his future. “My dream is to be a good doctor and help people with health problems,” he says. “I also want to be a doctor to have money and a good life,” he adds, revealing more of the motivation behind his dream.

Klodi’s dreams are as far away and as hard to see as the stars on a cloudy and dark night. He knows what survival looks and feels like. At 10 years old, he is an experienced worker.  He may dream about tomorrow, but he must first survive today.

Together withhissister, Irena, 9, they walk the streets and search the garbage bins of Albania from 9 p.m. until 2 a.m. and again from 6 a.m. to sunrise every day, looking for metal (iron, copper, aluminium, etc…) they can sell.This is the life their father lives and it is the legacy he has passed down to Klodi, Irena, and their three other siblings. They are part of a local Egyptian community.

Klodi  and Irena live with their parents; Shpetim, 42, and, Flora, 31 and their sisters and brother: Enxhi,15;Kadife, 12, and Florenc, 3. The area where they live, on the outskirts of Librazhd, is populated by many Roma and Egyptian communities. Almost all of them survive by begging, working on the streets or selling old clothes in the markets.

“I have been looking for a job for so many years,” says Shpetim, “but, is seems that a job does not exist for me.” His search for steady work is complicated by health problems he has had since he was a child and his low level of education: he completed only four years of school.

Klodi’s family shares a small room where seven people live. There is no toilet, inside. Their “living” room contains a few odd pieces of very old donated furniture: two small sofas, a chair and a cabinet.  Their only stable income is the $30 per month they received as social assistance from the municipality. 

Having enough food, secure shelter, good health, and access to education are the most basic needs--rights every child should enjoy—but these are well out of reach for Klodi and his siblings who must work to help their father buy food for their family every day.