Aug 29, 2023

Every year, the Social and Medial Improvement (SMI) program at NG Albania has multiple events for their clients. One of the biggest, and most in depth, events is the summer camp. The camp typically lasts for two weeks – weekdays only from 8 a.m. until about 2 p.m. It is an opportunity for the clients with special needs to learn how to interact with one another in a social situation, as well as for the parents of these clients to have some time during which they do not need to be watching their children.

This year, through the generosity of our donors, the camp was able to last for three weeks. One of the changes that was made this year was that the first week was a smaller group of children that are first time clients of our SMI program. The second and third weeks were with the group of clients that have been part of the program for a longer time.

The cherry on top, however, was that the very last day of the camp the participants went on a fieldtrip to a nearby village – the first time our SMI program has taken a group outside of the city of Pogradec. They took a short bus ride to a small village about 20 minutes away from the campus. The program there was the same as every day, but at the end the children were able to provide feedback on the aspects of the camps they liked and didn’t like. Resulting in a good discussion and feedback for our SMI program.

The SMI program has been working hard with many clients in order to achieve these kinds of successes. Being able to have a group of 18 children with special needs in an unfamiliar environment all behaving well and enjoying their time is no small feat, and it’s a testament to the hard work that our social workers have been putting in.