Albania –Land of the Eagle

Janice Christison

Many readers will remember Valdete, the young woman from Albania who was brought to Arran by Sue and Julian Davidson of Whiting Bay in 2008.  Valdete developed cerebral palsy after contracting meningitis at the age of two.   She seemed destined to spend her life in a wheelchair.

However, due to the generosity of the people of Arran and the skill of a pioneering surgeon in a Blackpool hospital, her deformed foot was successfully straightened in 2009 and she could return to her home in Albania for further physiotherapy to help her learn to walk.

A number of her friends on the island have kept in close touch with Vali, as we call her, and have travelled to her home in a suburb of Tirana, the capital, to see her and her family.  Last week it was my turn to fly out to Albania to see for myself. “Albania” I hear some of you say, “whatever can it be like?” Well, I fell in love with the country straightaway.  It is a land of great contrasts.  Only 20 years after the end of the very oppressive Communist regime that left it the poorest country in Europe, Albania is slowly emerging into the modern world. Yes, there is some crime, but there is crime in our own backyard.  It is a beautiful country of mountains and valleys and at Durres you reach the sea, the Adriatic.   I found the people warm and friendly.  Money has been coming into Albania recently with improved roads and some very modern buildings.   All in all, I can’t wait to go back.

Now to Valdete. She continues to charm everyone who comes into contact with her.  She faithfully goes twice a week to physio and continues to improve slowly. But – and it is a very big but – there is so much disability in Albania, a lot of muscular dystrophy but cerebral palsy as well.  Usually disabled people are kept hidden away, as any kind of disability is a real stigma there. That is why a number of us have set up the  Valdete Trust  (a registered charity) to provide a centre where disabled people can come to receive medical treatment, support and information as to how they can help themselves.
If, on reading this, you feel you could offer financial help, it would be most gratefully received.   Donations can be left at the Royal Bank of Scotland, marked for “The Valdete Trust”