Vildane Mulaku has been a coordinator of the women’s association “Martyrs of Freedom” in Vushtrri for five years now. She prepares food for the students every day, in a special separate room in “Andon Zako Çajupi” primary school alongside her three friends. In addition to the students of this school, the food is also distributed to the students of four other primary schools of the municipality of Vushtrri. Hundreds of students, during their break, can choose between seven kinds of food including toast, mini pizza, croissants, cheese pie, doughnuts, cookies and so on.
Dion Hasani, an eighth-grader, says that he buys food from this kitchen at least twice a week, emphasizing that the main reason is that these foods ‘have the taste of the food cooked by his grandmother’.
The staff of the schools benefiting says that he buys food from this kitchen at least twice a week and emphasizes the main reason for that being it “tastes like the food my grandmother makes from the initiative of preparing food from homemade recipes is also satisfied. They claim that it suffices that no student has been poisoned and no complaints from parents have been sent to the principal’s office.
Satisfied with their work are undoubtedly the women themselves who started their business in 2012 to provide for their families.
These four women lost their husbands during the last war in Kosova.
Vildane Mulaku’s husband was killed in May of 1999, alongside 116 other civilians, all of whom left their families behind.
“Every passing day was harder than the previous. We lost our husbands and were left alone with our little children. The only things going through my head at the time was taking care of my children, providing bread and butter and sheltering them. None of us knew where to turn to. Our only remaining hopes were our little innocent children craving for life”, she said.
Mulaku, who had never worked before, in 2010 took the opportunity of attending a training organized by IADK (The Initiative for Agricultural Development of Kosovo) in partnership with the Red Cross and the municipality of Vushtrri. The result of this training, with the help of IADK, was the establishment of this association which aims self-employment – in this particular case, preparing food for students of several schools in this municipality.
Shpresa Rama, the director of the Department of Culture in Vushtrri, says the “Martyrs of Freedom” association was initially assisted through the provision of a space for the process of food preparation.
“The provision of the students has been our priority but at the same time beneficial for these women, who in this way provide for their families”, Rama says for KosovaLive.
One of these women talks about the working atmosphere.
“We are colleagues but we are sisters as well. We share the same problems and worries.”
Although it has been a while since this association received any financial aid from the municipality, Rama says that she has drafted a plan for the renovation of the existing building of the Red Cross, where another center will be established. In this center, all the women who lost their husbands during the last war in Kosova will have a space with all the appropriate conditions to develop their business.
Arta Haxhaj, the director of Agriculture and Economic Development in the municipality of Vushtrri, says that this association, in competition with 45 other businesses, had won a baking oven and 2000 euros worth of appliances from the German organization “Help Kosovo”.
“During visits of different foreign delegations, we order traditional food from these women entrepreneurs and promote the traditional food and culture and in partnership with the municipality we also assist these women”, Haxhaj says.
Each student pays five euros a month for the daily food made by these women. The four of them are now thinking about expanding their business and hiring other women who are breadwinners and need a reasonable budget to support and invest in the future of their children.
“I am at ease because I know my children are eating healthy food and there’s no reason to complain. We are quite comfortable because we know our children are nourished with totally organic food” says a mother of two children who attend “Andon Zako Çajupi” primary school in Vushtrri.
Venera Grabanica
