Early Interventions Lead Toward Sustainable Impact

Meet Lori, a young, unemployed mother of two little girls: one is 24 months old, and the other is just 9 months old. She and her family came from extreme poverty and profound social hardship. On top of her financial struggles, Lori was also being physically and mentally abused by her husband. Even worse, she had no family to turn to.

The local healthcare team, led by nurse Esmeralda Matoshi, conducts home follow-up visits for children in the community and at the Child Protection Unit in the Municipality of Elbasan, where the family resides. The nurse invited the mother to the “Health Center” with her nine-month-old for a routine checkup.

This visit was a turning point for Lori and her children. At the Health Center, she was warmly and respectfully welcomed. It was the first time she felt truly listened to and safe. In this friendly atmosphere, the health care team held an open discussion and urged her to report the violence she was experiencing. As a result, she found the strength to speak out against her husband and begin a life of safety and dignity.

“Now someone is hearing me, and it feels like I am not alone. In this center, I found the strength to help myself and my daughters,” Lori said calmly.

After the health center, she was referred to the Child Protection Unit and social services for professional evaluation and counseling, with the assistance of the Child Protection representative at the Elbasan Municipality and much-needed inter-institutional cooperation.

The mother regained custody of her children by meeting their basic needs. Lori is now in the family support program and attends regular parenting classes. Ongoing support is also provided through the Community Center "Balashe" of the Elbasan Municipality, which is committed to helping her rebuild her life and care for her children. Her daughters are growing in the care and warmth of their mother, who is now in a much safer and loving place. She remains under the supervision of psychosocial services and the Health Center, where she continues to receive counseling, care, and psychosocial support.

Because of the good care and early professional assistance, Lori’s story is one of strength, courage, and hope in the face of life’s hardest challenges. Due to the loving care of the nurse, the prompt actions of the medical personnel and child abuse investigators, and the strong, cooperative spirit of the institution, the mother was able to escape an era of misery and find hope, respect, and a new life for her and her daughters.

Today, Lori, is a reminder that sometimes it takes only a moment in someone’s life to create a new destiny. 

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This story is based on a project funded by UNICEF and implemented by the Partnership for Development Foundation under the UN Joint Programme “Lifelong Empowerment and Protection in Albania” (LEAP). 

The programme is funded by the Joint SDG Fund and implemented by UNDP, UNICEF, ILO, and UN Women, in partnership with the Government of Albania. LEAP supports integrated, digital, and inclusive systems for social protection and employment, ensuring that today’s income security becomes tomorrow’s economic independence. We sincerely appreciate the contributions from the European Union and the governments of Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland in accelerating progress towards the SDGs. 

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Story was originally published by UNICEF Albania.