Sabrije Zeqaj who comes from the village Strellc i Ulët has been on a wheelchair for 47 years. However her daily life does not resemble that of people with disabilities. She has a busy lifestyle and manages to do all the work needed on her own.
Sabrija tells how disillusioned she was and how she could not accept so easily her condition following the accident she had when she was 19 years old.
“I couldn’t believe that I could not walk again. I tried to take my own life several times and I refused to use a wheelchair for five years, because I was not ready to accept my misfortune,” says Zeqaj.
As the youngest child in the family, raised with four older brothers, she says that she was the most favored. Her parents made continuous efforts towards her recovery, visiting all the medical centers of former Yugoslavia as well as China and Russia.
However, her condition mostly improved once she started working on herself and decided not to let her disability limit her.
Sabrija finished her elementary school in Isniq, village of Deҫan, she then attended high school “9 May” – majoring in stomatology in Prishtina, and graduated in 2014 from the Riinvest College.
She acquired professional skills. In 2010 she became the first woman with a disability to run for a seat in the Parliament of Kosovo.
Earlier in her life she was the 12 time champion of Kosovo in shooting in the respective category, and 6 time former Yugoslav champion.
Sabrije thanks her professional engagement in “Handikos” for her success. Encouraged by Halit Ferizi and her professor dr.Nehat Kiseri. With them, alongside a group of other individuals, she founded this association in 1979, where for several years in a row acted as the municipal director for Deҫan.
“They tried to indirectly engage me in different activities. My first duty was to register all the people with disabilities in the Dukagjini region. That was when I started to feel useful and to understand that it is the duty of every one of us to contribute to this society,” she says.
Her work and dedication to “Handikos” brought her the Worker of the Year title for the whole network throughout Kosovo, and from 2005 she acts as the executive director of “Handikos” for all of Dukagjini region, with its headquarters in Peja.
“Handikos” is a nongovernmental organization that has been operating since 1983. They have 14 offices – regional centers and 28 local offices around Kosovo. They deal with the rehabilitation of people with disabilities, their education and building their professional skills, employing them, and so forth.
Their main goal is to rehabilitate children with disabilities of 1-16 years of age, aiming to prepare them for preschool, elementary school, middle school and high school. The children that are not capable of attending school acquire skills that help them become independent from their families.
“Handikos” is the only organization in Kosovo that distributes orthopedic, sanitary equipment to people with disabilities. They have a mobile team which, in coordination with the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, is supported by projects, and visits people with disabilities. Currently there are two physiotherapists, a psychologist, social workers and nurses in this association.
Sabrija considers that the professional staff of “Handikos” can meet the needs of their 872 members.
Her numerous certifications hanging on the walls of her office or on her shelves are proof of her hard work and achievements.
She’s been honored from the humanitarian association “Nënë Tereza” for her contribution during the war when, despite her disability she managed to work hand in hand with the doctors and activists of this association, as well as other associations such as the International Red Cross, Red Crescent, Handicap International, Oxfam etc.
All of these organizations helped people with disabilities who were left with no care during the war by offering them medical services and distributing necessary equipment.
“In the state we had found ourselves, a healthy individual had a hard time surviving the tortures. Let alone individuals with disabilities who were in the worst condition,” she says.
That’s not the end of her awards; among them she was also decorated with the NATO medal by the general of the multinational brigade Massimo de Maggio, making her the first woman to receive such a medal. In addition to that, she has been awarded the OSCE certificate for her contribution for people with disabilities.
Muharrem Gacaferri, supervisor of the Association of UÇK (Kosovo Liberation Army – KLA) Invalids, has nothing but good words about the work of “Handikos” in the Dukagjini region, too.
Aside from the emergency support with the necessary equipment, Sabrije Zeqaj and the local office in Deҫan, together with “Handicap International” and “Handikos” have implemented a project costing millions for the recovery of UÇK fighters who have lost their limbs during the war.
“She took care of everything, starting from visa procedures in Macedonia, plane tickets, several week treatment in Ljubljana, the diagnosis and taking measures for the lost or amputated limbs, and their return to Kosovo. It was a tiresome work that resulted in the treatment of 50 fighters,” said Gacaferri.
Sabrija was also committed to the advancement of women with disabilities.
“Through my work and projects many women acquired professional skills, completed different courses for hairdressing, sewing, cooking, or graduate from high school and university. I have supported them with everything they needed. ‘The cherry on top’ is the fact that a lot of women got their driving license thanks to these engagements and today they drive,” said Zeqaj.
Sabrija drives her purpose-built car everyday from the village of Strellc in Peja. Six months ago she had an accident; she got hit by one of the villagers and was seriously injured.
However she quickly managed to get back to work and her daily activities, perhaps to once more prove her title of “the strong woman.”
Fjolla Hajrizaj
