Right family support at the right time Adela, Tirana, Albania “When we first met Adela*, she wanted us to take her children. She just wanted to leave them with us. Give them up. Her boys were malnourished. They didn’t have enough to eat. She said, ‘I don’t care what happens to me. I will just go off and die, but please take my children so they have a chance in life’”, explains Manjola Koco, programme coordinator in SOS Children’s Villages Albania. Instead of separating the two children from their mother, SOS Children’s Villages started supporting the family. Urgent help was provided right away: nutritional support for the children, clothing, along with some household items. Then, together with Manjola, the family started to address longer-term issues that would help the family become more stable and self-reliant again. Two years later, the family has recovered and gained strength. They have proved great resilience to overcome the challenges they were faced with. The family now lives in a modest, but warm and tidy apartment, the children are healthy and have a little baby brother now. The father, who is unable to work due to vision problems, now receives state disability support. The mother has earned a certificate in tailoring through a job training programme and will go back to work soon. The family is not entirely independent yet, but in another year, they will be ready, says Manjola. Photo: Bo Holmberg *Name changed for privacy protection Go back to all stories