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You are here » Home » Telling Our Story
Success Story
As Albania improves accessibility for people with disabilities, one woman uses English to empower
Learning Abroad, Inspiring Change at Home
Photo: World Learning\Brittany Lynk
Teaching from a wheelchair at home in
Tirana, Teuta Halilaj (center) inspires her
students with her positive attitude.
“Learning and teaching
English has not only given
me a voice, it has allowed
me to give others a voice,”
said Teuta Halilaj.
After an automobile accident several years ago, Teuta Halilaj’s
life changed. In a moment, her whole environment became
accessible only from a wheelchair and her self-confi dence
dwindled. Then she realized, “If you want life to smile for you,
you must smile fi rst. We women with disabilities must make that
fi rst step and change our fate.”
Smile she did, becoming a voice for people with disabilities in
Tirana. As an active member of the Albanian Disability Rights
Foundation, supported by USAID, Halilaj was chosen to
represent Albania in the Women’s Institute on Leadership and
Disability, winning a tuition scholarship to the American English
Institute in Eugene, Oregon.
While studying in Eugene, she participated in activities like
scuba diving and sailing, things she never thought possible
for a woman in a wheelchair. She was also encouraged by the
accessibility of classrooms and other university amenities for
people with disabilities. For the fi rst time, she saw an interactive
educational model where she was able to give presentations
and actively direct her learning. She became determined to
bring that opportunity to students in Albania.
Halilaj now teaches private English classes to more than 50
students, including some with disabilities. She says, “English
is a key that opens a world of possibilities. People with
disabilities face seclusion and exclusion. By learning English
in combination with access to the Internet, communities can
be formed, conversations can begin, voices can merge, and
change can happen. Though Albania does not currently have
the infrastructure to allow most people with disabilities access
to interactive education, I am trying to show my students that
through awareness, tolerance, advocacy, and learning English,
lives, laws, and communities can change.”
Halilaj recently had a ramp built onto her teaching facility and
has been making contact with families who have students
with disabilities. With the help of USAID, Halilaj has not only
strengthened her own voice and the voice of the disability
community in Albania, but she has also passed that power on
to her students. “I do not limit myself. I am now loud and proud,”
she said.
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