On the 10th anniversary of the founding of “Fundjava Ndryshe,” an initiative that began as a simple act of volunteerism and grew into a symbol of humanity and solidarity, a commemorative ceremony was held today. This year, it also coincides with the International Volunteer Day – December 5th.
Over these ten years, the initiative has brought together hundreds of young people who have given their time, energy, and heart to change the lives of people in need.
Prime Minister Edi Rama was also present at the ceremony and addressed the audience with a speech.
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I have lost count of how many times I have stood on this stage for congresses. Since I am here, I would like to share a few words about hope and charity, inspired by a phrase I have always wanted to say: “Hope must be trained.”
Hope is not an ornament of the soul, it is not a lucky star above our heads, and it is not a vague promise that tomorrow will necessarily be better than today. Hope is a muscle, and like every muscle, it grows only when it is trained, and it strengthens when it is exposed to difficulties, obstacles, and disappointments. Untrained hope is fragile, while trained hope carries you forward toward what you want to achieve, for yourself or for others.
Charity, on the other hand, is often misunderstood as simply giving away something extra. But true charity is not generosity with what you no longer need; it is generosity with yourself, a decision to open yourself to another person and to see someone in difficulty as a mirror of your own humanity. Depending on how much you reflect yourself in the one who needs help, your charity is real, or it is not. Charity is not a gesture and not an event. Charity is a discipline.
More than ever before, I experienced this in the way of governing related to the Afghans. It was the moment when America withdrew, taking with it all of NATO, and those people, who had been promised freedom, rights, democracy, and a different life, were suddenly left at the mercy of a murderous crowd. That is when I saw another America, the extraordinary strength of people who came together to help those who were being abandoned.
We became the only country that opened its doors to the Afghans, because many of them were considered “too Muslim” for some other NATO countries, or “not white enough.” Meanwhile, we saw in them a reflection of our own spirit, and although we are one of the smallest and least wealthy NATO members, our spirit could not be as small as that of those who are wealthier and greater than us.
What happens within this foundation is the building of habits of the heart. And the training of hope and the discipline of charity are two habits that stand above all others and upon which all other habits in our approach to others depend.
We live in a time that tests both hope and charity every single day. Every day we hear how loud cynicism is, how freely it spreads, and how contagious the spread of negativity is. Meanwhile, spreading hope is difficult and requires effort. Judging and prejudging is easy; helping is much harder. But despair has never built a school. Cynicism has never healed an injured child. Indifference has never opened a new path of hope for anyone. Only trained hope and charity turned into discipline, built something that lasts.
These things are not easy to do; they are difficult and often painful. But the beauty behind them is felt in moments like this one. Every day life is something else: waking up each morning with the stubborn conviction that today, again, the training of hope must continue. Waking up with the conviction that to nourish hope, you must look into the mirror. And practising charity means refusing the idea that you are self-sufficient and that you do not need anyone.
May no one ever be placed in a position of needing an extended hand, but may no one ever forget that the more you extend your hand to others, the greater the chance that one day, should you need it, you will find another hand reaching out toward you.
Finally, I want to say: Arbër, Fundjava Ndryshe is a gym of hope. You are a trainer of the discipline of charity. I wish that every day you continue to find the strength to train hope and the determination to exercise the discipline of charity, and that all these people continue to support you in this mission.
Thank you very much!
