The program that rebuilt schools after the earthquake ends - From Kavaja to Shijak, 63 educational facilities were transformed with EU support
The largest European Union program for education in Albania, “EU4Schools”, which was implemented for 6 consecutive years by UNDP, the United Nations Development Program in cooperation with the Albanian government, has ended.
Through the project, 63 educational facilities, 9-year, secondary and vocational schools, kindergartens, nurseries or boarding schools, have been reconstructed and repaired. The project was born after the 2019 earthquake as a support that European citizens gave to the citizens of Albania in the 11 affected municipalities, said the EU4Schools Program Manager, Egla Gollaj.
“What makes us most proud of this program, besides having built better and having built together, is the fact that this program has not only been an infrastructure program, but has also been a program that has had components of learning and teaching, i.e. improving educational services.”
Nearly 25 thousand students and teachers have benefited from this program. Almost all educational facilities have been equipped with ramps and elevators, to guarantee access for children with disabilities. The “Benardina Qerraxhia” Sports-Oriented High School has been transformed into a new school complex with three separate buildings, including a school with up to four floors, an indoor gym for training purposes and an indoor Olympic gym, the only one of its kind in Albania. Outdoor spaces and indoor gyms are not lacking either in the 9-year “Mehmet Babamusta” School in Kavaja or the “Asim Vokshi” Language-Oriented High School. The program has ensured that nursing and psychology rooms are also present in Kindergarten No. 2 in Shijak. Teachers, students and parents give their impressions of Scan Television, now in safer, modern and dignified environments.
Emanuel Murati, President of the Senate of the “Asim Vokshi” School:
“Really, for me one of the strongest reasons that I came here to Foreign Languages was precisely the conditions. When I came to see the school at first, it seemed very, very beautiful, very new, I saw that it had conditions, I saw that it had air conditioning, which for us is the most important thing and then there is also the staff, the teachers seemed very good to me”.
Suela Guhaçaj, Director of the “Mehmet Babamusta” School, Kavajë:
“It is a school that has changed completely, completely in appearance, completely in mentality. Where does this lie? In the motivation that the teachers have, the teaching staff, working in even better conditions, in clean environments, in orderly environments, in laboratories, they have heating, they have cooling, water, the toilets are very clean, the children come with pleasure, the teachers as well, so it is a safe environment”.
Parent of one of the children, Kindergarten No. 2 “Shtojzovallet”, Shijak:
“The cleanliness is at its best, the security is quite high, this shows the very appropriate, very modern conditions, it shows a lot about the well-being of our children that we bring every day to this kindergarten, they have no comparison”.
The European Union has dedicated 75 million euros to educational facilities affected by the earthquake in Krujë, Durrës, Kurbin, Kamzë, Kavajë, Tirana, Mirditë, Lezhë, Rrogozhinë, Shijak and Vorë. The “EU4Schools” program was based on two main principles: “We build back better” which means building stronger structures that can withstand earthquakes and natural disasters, having the highest international standards of quality and safety, as well as “We build back together” which means providing opportunities to involve beneficiaries in the reconstruction of their educational institutions and to “adapt” the project according to their needs.
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