By Klea Troka, YES 2011-2012, Albania, hosted by YFU in Delaware, OH

My name is Klea Troka and I am a YES alumna of 2011-2012, currently a fourth year medical student studying in Tirana, Albania. During my exchange year in the U.S., I got the opportunity not only to widen my horizons on how I see the world around me, but also how I see myself. Thanks to the YES program I feel more confident and ready to give and try my best.

Upon my arrival in Albania, I started my studies in the field of medicine. My school is located inside a big hospital center, Nënë Tereza, which receives about 400 patients daily for medical attention. While I was in my immunology class, I noticed that the view from the window was not so pleasant. My classroom is located in the same building where most of the hospitalized patients are placed.

As a curious person, I am not only interested in the scientific aspects of medicine, but also the emotional and psychological factors. I started doing some research on how the environment affects our health and specifically how it affects the healing process of the hospitalized patients. One study indicated that hospital patients have been shown to recover from surgery more quickly when their hospital room offered a view of trees. Trees improve air quality by filtering harmful dust and pollutants and trees absorb and block noise. A well placed tree can reduce noise by as much as 40%. A study published by environmental psychologist Roger Urich in the journal, Science, showed that patients with bedside windows looking out on leafy trees healed on average, a day faster, needed significantly less pain medication and had fewer postsurgical complications than patients who instead saw a brick wall.

And that is how Green Heals project began. On November 6, a total of 40 YES alumni, the hospital medical students, and volunteers of Outdoor Ambassador Albania, got together to plant twenty trees around the Hospital Center. A volunteer who is a student of architecture helped us creating an environmental design to plant the trees where they would have the most impact for health and beauty We planted six Prunus Pissardi Nigra, four Eucalyptus, and ten Rosmarino trees, each chosen for their specific characteristics. Eucalyptus, for example, keeps mosquitoes away. Prunus Pissardi adds color and shade to the environment and Rosmarino trees are known for their great smell. Team members are now part of the care and maintenance required.

Participants of the project planting the trees around the Hospital center (photo above)

When the volunteer team first started talking about the idea, our thought was that it would only impact the patients and the people who would walk by and see the trees. The truth turned out to be different. Green Heals impacted us, and all the other students who study at the university. Every day we walk by those trees we know we are kind of “guilty” for their existence. I also noticed the impact and relation we created with the environment. “I have started to notice any kind of trees around the streets I walk by,” said Adriana, medical student who was part of the team

Green Heals started as a small personal project, but it was made possible by the work of enthusiastic, talented young people, who put their best efforts in every small detail. For me, this was the best example of team work and how young people together can do great things. Our hope is that other people will take small initiatives like this one, and will have their impact on the environment.

Thank you to the YES Alumni, medical students, and Outdoors Ambassadors Albania volunteers for their hard work. I would also like to thank the administration of the Nënë Tereza Hospital Center as without their help Green Heals project would not be possible. Many thanks go to Linda Mëniku, at American Councils for International Education in Albania, whose great contribution made this project successful.

And last but not least, I would like to thank the training team from the Salam Institute for Peace and Justice who taught me everything from A to Z on how to conduct a community initiative through the YES Alumni Transformational Leadership Training workshop I participated in. I convey my appreciation to the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs for their sponsorship of YES program.

Please remember that by planting a tree, you are planting hope! Thank you!

Volunteers receiving certificates of participation after the end of the project (photo above)