Creating a safe space that offers protection, rehabilitation, and empowerment for women and children facing violence.
Where once there was silence and an unused building slowly fading with time, today there is light, warmth, and hope. In the heart of Korça, a space with a remarkable story has been brought back to life — not simply reconstructed, but transformed into a sanctuary for women and children facing violence.
One Heart Albania, together with the Dushku family from Korça, committed themselves to restoring this center. Its history stretches back to the 1990s, when Mother Teresa visited Korça and turned this very building into a home for abandoned children living on the streets. For many years after, the center stood unused — its halls quiet, its purpose paused.
That changed when the Municipality of Korça, One Heart Albania, and Erjola Xheko decided to invest in giving this building a new mission: becoming a refuge for abused women and their children.
The project began two years ago — a visit that CEO had planned long before but never managed to make. This year, on the day of her birthday, she finally walked through its doors. There, she learned something unexpected from Mrs. Mamica, the Coordinator of the Child and Family Support Service: in the very year she was born, this building served as the maternity ward of Korça.
Her eyes filled with tears as she stood in the place where her life began — a building that had remained untouched for so many years, now being reborn to protect and uplift women and children in need. It was a moment that tied past and present together in the most emotional and meaningful way.
This restoration became more than a project. It became a symbol of healing, continuity, and purpose — a reminder that the spaces we rebuild can carry stories, dignity, and new beginnings for generations to come.
