ACCESS TO THE UNIVERSITY FOR DARDANA AND ARIANA

Dardana and Ariana are sisters who were respectively 6 and 5 years old when, together with their little brother Arian, who was just 2 at the time, they were welcomed into the Leskoc House. They had suddenly lost their mother and their father, heavily scarred by the violence he had witnessed during the war in Kosovo, was unable to take care of them.

Since then, even though the contacts with their father and grandparents have never stopped, Dardana, Ariana and Arian have grown up together with all the other children and young people hosted in the House managed by Caritas Umbria in Kosovo.

From the earliest years, the two girls attended school with commitment, passion and purpose. They gradually acquired the desire to attend university.

The status of women in Kosovo

In addition to the economic difficulties tied to attending university, Dardana and Ariana have had to face a situation that is still particularly problematic for women, especially in rural areas of the country.

In Kosovo, society is anchored in a strongly patriarchal mentality. Almost 60% of women between the ages of 16 and 28 have been subjected to violence, mostly in the family environment, and only 12.7% of women between the ages of 15 and 64 work. This is a theme that is particularly close to the heart of the Valter Baldaccini Foundation, which in the last two years has supported a socio-educational project dedicated to the training and employment of a group of women in the dairy and bakery and pastry shop of the Leskoc House. 

Since 2016 close to young people and women Leskoc House

The House of Leskoc is a beautiful reality that hosts about twenty children and adolescents who can no longer live with their family of origin and provides support to one hundred very poor families scattered throughout the area.

For almost six years, the Valter Baldaccini Foundation has been building opportunities for social recovery with the House of Leskoc and Shoqata and Agrikultur Sociale Zllakuqan (CSZ), the cooperative that manages the land and the farm:

• in 2016, the socio-educational project Development and training for work in Kosovo was launched by supplying ten dairy cows, a milking machine and a pasteurizer, essential for starting milk production and sales;
• in 2019 a new stable is built and the volunteers of the Valter Baldaccini Foundation leave for a volunteer experience;
• in 2020 the pandemic forces us to review a new project designed for women to overcome the economic difficulties of the home. Thanks to the contribution of the Foundation, twenty new calves were purchased;
• in 2021 the training and work project dedicated to women started with the aim of giving a group of ten women an important opportunity for recovery.

A precious opportunity for Dardana and Ariana

For 2022, the Valter Baldaccini Foundation has chosen to once again focus its attention on young women and to offer its support to the university path of Dardana and Ariana through two scholarships that will allow the girls to attend the first year of the University State of Pristina, Kosovo’s capital.

The scholarships include everything needed to give these young women a real chance to build a better future. In fact, the scholarships will cover their enrollment fees, books and school materials, the rent for one room in a boarding school, the subscription to public transport and help with meals.

Dardana chose to attend History within the Faculty of Philosophy while Ariana decided to enroll in the Faculty of Physical and Sports Education. A path that began with the 2021/2022 academic year but which we hope will continue over the next few years.

This will only be possible if you are close to us: support the Foundation and now give a future to Dardana and Ariana.

Photocredit: Francesca Boccabella