By Ambra Leka, PASS/EcoVolis
Fall 2019 Newsletter

One family, unlike any other family we’ve visited, made us realize that despite the difficulties in their lives, they still have great heart, welcoming smiles, and a lot of love to give. On a cold autumn night in 2019 we visited a social house in the north city of Tropojë. We knocked and the lady of the house opened the door with a full blown smile, her eyes glowing, and welcomed us openly. But her husband — why didn’t he listen to what we were saying?
The couple were born without the ability to speak or hear. After some time as friends, they fell in love and started living together, desperate as any couple to raise a family and become parents.

What can we say? We only had one sewing machine to donate. It seemed symbolic to us, but to their family it seemed like we were donating a treasure. We went inside, put the sewing machine on the table, and met their little girl, who greeted us with her sweet voice and an angel face. It was so nice to see a family where mom and dad couldn’t even talk or hear, but their daughter somehow could understand and communicate with them. And why was she so small?

We explained how they could use the sewing machine. The lady with a longing and patience watched us as were trying to explain how she could use it. We didn’t know how to feel, what to say or how to act. Her husband left us for a moment and went into the next room. He returned with another sewing machine that the lady had used before it was broken. He had been working on it but had never been able to fix it, much less buy a new one.

It’s hard to describe what I experienced: my happiness and the happiness that the family felt in those moments. They thanked us immensely for the sewing machine while I as a 20 year old girl and young activist want to thank you for the opportunity, the confidence, the cooperation and what I experienced when I knocked on their door, just with a sewing machine that was not mine. THANK YOU.

EcoVolis video (43 seconds) of the delivery of the sewing machine