Nine year old Senada goes to school every day, and comes to the NG Gjirokaster soup kitchen for a hot meal, social time, and homework help afterwards. She says "I love the school and I want to learn, because I do not want to be like my mum and dad who are illiterate."

Knowing how to read and write is a huge step forward for children like Senada, and will give them opportunities their parents never had. Single mother Liljana sends her two sons to school for this reason, and adds that NG's after-school program provides her children with the homework help she is unable to give them herself.

School is fully in session in Gjirokaster, and the children report that they like learning core skills like reading and math, as well as fun subjects like art, music, and dance.

COVID-19 has made things harder for most people in Gjirokaster. Tourism is the main industry, and prior to COVID, the city was seeing record numbers of visitors. For now, there are almost no tourists, and unemployment has increased dramatically. The families of children in our program have been receiving aid since the pandemic began last year, which has created an added incentive to keep the children in school during this difficult time.