By Katerina Hatija (YES 2013-2014, Albania, hosted by CIEE in Everett, WA)

“A Day Spent Drawing Is a Day Spent Learning” is the name alumna Egis Qyra (YES 2016-2017, Albania, hosted by AYUSA in Austin, TX) chose for the activity she organized on June 29, 2018 to bring smiles and some English knowledge to the children at a free kindergarten in Tirana. The kindergarten was established to support children of families facing financial difficulties or domestic violence. Egis is very fond of this kindergarten. She found out about it several years ago when a friend who was a volunteer at the center invited Egis to a surprise birthday party organized there. 

With my help and the help of three other volunteers who regularly support alumni activities, Egis read stories about superheroes in English while 14 children ages five to 11 drew and colored pictures of characters that appeared in the stories. In two hours, the children learned many new words and also how to create sentences. By the end of the activity, they were able to describe their favorite characters in English!

The activity was fun for all involved. As one of the children stated: “This was the best class I have ever taken here! I would want to do it again. This way I would definitely visit this place more.” As for Egis, she explained when the activity was over: “These children give me a sense of accomplishment that I can’t describe. I want to do all I can to help them learn!” Egis promised to visit the kindergarten again.