Writing her way to the future

With 
 a 
 quiet 
 focus,  
 Hateme 
 Krasniqi,  
 an 
 Ashkali 
 woman 
 in 
 her 
 mid-­‐30s,  
 keeps 
 her 
 eyes 
 trained 
 on 
 the 
 tip 
 of 
 her 
 pencil 
 as 
 she 
 carefully 
 draws 
 one 
 letter 
 after 
 another 
 to 
 spell 
 out 
 her 
 first 
 name: 
 “HATEME”. 
 Today,  
 bundled 
 up 
 in 
 her 
 winter 
 coat 
 while 
 a 
 chilly 
 drizzle 
 rains 
 down 
 outside,  
 Hateme’s 
 hands 
 are 
 cold 
 and 
 red 
 but 
 increasingly 
 well-­‐practiced 
 in 
 writing 
 her 
 name. 
 But 
 this 
 is 
 something 
 very 
 new 
 – 
 and 
 very 
 exciting 
 – 
 for 
 this 
 mother 
 of 
 six 
 from 
 the 
 marginalized 
 Ashkali 
 quarter 
 of 
 Fushe 
 Kosove,  
 Kosovo. 
 Indeed,  
 as 
 recently 
 as 
 this 
 summer,  
 Hateme 
 and 
 the 
 other 
 nine 
 Ashkali 
 women 
 in 
 this 
 ‘literacy,  
 numeracy 
 and 
 parenting’ 
 class 
 knew 
 perhaps 
 only 
 a 
 few 
 letters 
 each. 
 
 But 
 thanks 
 to 
 a 
 weekly 
 class 
 offered 
 to 
 neighborhood 
 women 
 by 
 The 
 Ideas 
 Partnership 
 (TIP),  
 the 
 women 
 are 
 gradually 
 but 
 surely 
 grasping 
 the 
 basic 
 literacy 
 and 
 numeracy 
 skills 
 they 
 were 
 never 
 taught 
 as 
 children. 
 


Initiated 
 in 
 June 
 2013 
 by 
 TIP 
 volunteer 
 Sarah 
 Thibauld,  
 this 
 October 
 the 
 classes 
 were 
 officially 
 incorporated 
 into 
 the 
 structure 
 of 
 TIP’s 
 UNV-­‐supported 
 project 
 focusing 
 on 
 literacy,  
 numeracy 
 and 
 training 
 community 
 ‘changemakers’ 
 in 
 the 
 Ashkali 
 area 
 of 
 Fushe 
 Kosove 
 as 
 well 
 as 
 the 
 community 
 in 
 Plemetin,  
 Obiliq 
 municipality. 
 


As 
 for 
 many 
 of 
 the 
 women 
 in 
 Sarah’s 
 class,  
 Hateme’s 
 enthusiasm 
 for 
 literacy 
 and 
 numeracy 
 has 
 grown 
 alongside 
 her 
 increasing 
 skills 
 in 
 these 
 areas. 
 And 
 perhaps 
 most 
 notably,  
 her 
 new 
 skills 
 and 
 increasing 
 enthusiasm 
 do 
 not 
 stop 
 with 
 Hateme 
 herself,  
 but 
 travel 
 home 
 with 
 her 
 where 
 she 
 sits 
 around 
 the 
 heater 
 with 
 her 
 young 
 children 
 to 
 play 
 alphabet 
 and 
 spelling 
 games. 
 Indeed,  
 as 
 teacher 
 Sarah 
 sees 
 it,  
 Hateme 
 and 
 many 
 
of 
 the 
 other 
 women 
 in 
 her 
 class 
 see 
 their 
 self-­‐empowerment 
 through 
 literacy 
 and 
 numeracy 
 as 
 a 
 feat 
 not 
 only 
 for 
 themselves 
 but 
 as 
 an 
 opportunity 
 to 
 lift 
 their 
 children’s 
 future 
 out 
 of 
 poverty. 
 “They’re 
 really 
 working 
 on 
 literacy 
 and 
 numeracy 
 for 
 themselves 
 as 
 well 
 as 
 their 
 children, ” 
 says 
 Sarah. 
 


Back 
 in 
 Hateme’s 
 warm 
 living 
 room,  
 her 
 youngest 
 child 
 grabs 
 at 
 pieces 
 of 
 the 
 alphabet 
 game 
 whilst 
 Xhejlane,  
 10,  
 carefully 
 assembles 
 letters 
 to 
 spell 
 simple 
 words 
 in 
 Albanian. 
 Also 
 crowded 
 around 
 the 
 heater 
 and 
 enjoying 
 the 
 games 
 is 
 Hateme’s 
 husband,  
 Agron,  
 whose 
 8th-­‐grade 
 education 
 helps 
 guide 
 and 
 reinforce 
 what 
 Hateme 
 and 
 her 
 children 
 are 
 learning. 
 The 
 aim 
 here 
 is 
 of 
 course 
 practical 
 and 
 pragmatic,  
 a 
 means 
 to 
 empower 
 marginalized 
 and 
 under-­‐educated 
 women 
 and 
 their 
 families. 
 But 
 watching 
 the 
 Krasniqi 
 family 
 laugh 
 and 
 joke 
 with 
 each 
 other 
 as 
 they 
 together 
 embrace 
 learning 
 these 
 critical 
 skills,  
 one 
 might 
 think 
 it 
 was 
 all 
 just 
 for 
 fun. 
 Then 
 again,  
 can’t 
 it 
 be 
 both? 


A 
 success 
 story 
 from 
 a 
 UNV component within UN Joint project in Kosovo funded by UN Trust Fund for Human Security and implemented
 by
 The
 Ideas Partnership.

Story 
 by 
 Sarah 
 Murphy 
 (Sarah.Murphy@gmail.com)