How Partnerships in Elbasan Are Rewriting Lives

UNDP Albania

October 20, 2025

EU4LMI Employment Assessment Consultation Meetings - Elbasan

UNDP Albania

Author

Nora Kushti

Communications Specialist, UNDP Albania

I’ve always carried a piece of their stories—those who have faced life’s hardest blows yet still find the courage to stand.

In Elbasan, I met people whose lives had been shaped by struggle—poverty, abandonment, domestic violence, and a lack of opportunity. Many had little education and even less hope. Yet, beneath the hardship, there was something unbreakable: a spark of determination waiting to be reawakened.

The EU4LMI project—EU for Labor Market Inclusion—funded by the European Union and implemented by UNDP Albania in partnership with the Swedish Public Employment Service and the Albanian Disability Rights Foundation, is giving people a way out—with dignity. Working hand in hand with the National Agency for Employment and Skills (AKPA), State Social Services, municipalities, and 12 civil society organizations across 19 municipalities, such as Lëvizja Rinore Rome dhe Egjiptiane (LRER), Tjetër Vizion and Joscelyn Foundation, EU4LMI is bridging the gap between exclusion and opportunity.

The project focuses on those often left behind—people with limited education, low confidence, and little access to formal jobs. But instead of offering quick fixes, EU4LMI builds long-term empowerment: personalized counseling, job-coaching training, legal and social support, job matching and direct connections to employers.
In Elbasan, I met 18 of the project’s beneficiaries, each story is a powerful example of what partnership and persistence can achieve.

How Partnerships in Elbasan Are Rewriting Lives — Sara Pepa, one of the beneficiaries of the EU4LMI project

UNDP Albania

I met Sara , a 29-year-old single mother who had faced abandonment, domestic violence, and years of insecure, informal work. Her training in Information Technology once felt like a distant dream. When Tjetër Vizion reached out in March 2025, Sara hesitated—but she took a chance. Through EU4LMI’s Intensive Counseling Program, she received one-on-one guidance, learned to prepare for interviews, and regained her confidence. With the coordinated support of Elbasan regional NAES and the municipality, even childcare was arranged. By July 2025, Sara started her first formal job as a cook assistant at Burger House in Elbasan—with a contract and social insurance. “I used to feel like I was just surviving,” she said, her eyes bright with pride. “Now, my life has taken a turn for the better.”

Eva 50, from Elbasan’s Egyptian community, told me a similar story of courage. A mother of five children and a grandmother of 7 nieces and nephews, long-term unemployment with no confidence in herself. With only nine years of education, work seemed impossible. But through EU4LMI’s integrated support—intensive career counseling, and life-skills training—Eva built her confidence and learned to navigate the job market. With LRER support and Elbasan Regional Employment Office, she is now employed part-time in one of Elbasan’s elementary schools as cleaning lady through Public Works Program, one of Active Labor Market Programs (ALMPs). She is proud to have her first formal job. “I’m not just a mother now,” she said. “I’m a provider.”

Then there’s Zamira 33, a mother of two who had long relied on economic aid after being abandoned by her husband. Her informal tailoring work barely kept her afloat. Through EU4LMI and Tjetër Vizion, Zamira received career guidance and coaching in communication, time management, and business planning. Recognizing her potential, the project linked her to financial support through a women’s empowerment program. By mid-2025, Zamira was taking her first steps toward opening her own tailoring business.

“I was invisible before,” she said, threading her needle with a steady hand. “Now, I’m stitching my own story.”

Each of these stories—Sara’s, Eva’s and Zamira’s—represents more than individual success. They reflect a system working in harmony: local authorities, national institutions, civil society, and international partners aligning to make inclusion real.

In Elbasan alone, 18 people have moved from vulnerability to self-reliance through EU4LMI’s tailored approach. By end of 2026 only in Elbasan municipality, EU4LMI is expected to provide support to 365 beneficiaries such as NEETs, Economic Aid beneficiaries, young mothers and Persons with Disabilities.

Across Albania, the project is creating pathways to employment, strengthening local labor markets, and proving that when institutions collaborate, transformation follows.

In Elbasan, I met people who once saw only closed doors—but through EU4LMI, they’ve found not just jobs, but dignity, confidence, and a new sense of purpose.

Their stories remind me that when people and institutions truly work hand in hand, hope stops being just a word—it becomes something you can see, feel, and build a life around.