Education

Education is the source of a sustainable self-sufficiency, and therefore, also an important foundation for human dignity. 

Kasandra’s Story

At the age of nineteen, Kasandra Troka has already received more education than most Roma girls in Albania. She was raised by her grandfather and father, who supported her attending Nehemiah Gateway's Amaro Tan School in Pogradec. She was the first girl ever to graduate from Amaro Tan in 2016, while most of her female peers had already dropped out by the age of twelve.

The Amaro Tan Project is a school for Roma, Albanian Egyptian, and at-risk Albanian children. Only about three percent of Roma youth complete high school, and very few of them are girls. Lack of education contributes to an intractable cycle of poverty in these communities. As a high school graduate, Kasandra is already well on her way to a successful future. 

Now Kasandra is enrolled in the BA program at Nehemia Gateway University in Pogradec—and her sights are set even higher. “I dream of achieving something in my life,” she says. “My greatest wish is to become a lawyer.”