The school bell rang, but this wasn’t an ordinary lesson. There were no textbooks, no exams—just a simple but powerful question:
What can we do to protect the environment?
In the framework of the MELI Project, supported by Leviz Albania and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the RESU team stepped into schools to turn lessons into action. This wasn’t just about learning facts—it was about understanding the problem and doing something about it.
Lesson One: Understanding the Environment
The first stop was Gjimnazi “Ibrahim Rugova” in Kamëz, where high school students gathered for a discussion that hit close to home. Their school was only 100 meters from the Tirana River, a place that should have been a natural treasure—but had instead become a dumping ground.
The session focused on waste management and pollution, breaking it down into real-life examples that students could see in their own neighborhoods.
“What happens when plastic waste enters the river?” one student asked.
“It doesn’t just disappear,” another answered. “It travels downstream, and eventually into the sea.”
It wasn’t just theory—it was their reality.
At Shkolla 9-Vjeçare “Nënë Tereza”, younger students had their own version of the lesson. Their program was called “We and Nature – How Can We Coexist?” Instead of just hearing about the problem, they talked about solutions.
One fifth-grade student raised his hand.
“If there’s no place to throw trash, people will just throw it anywhere.”
He wasn’t wrong.
Lesson Two: Learning by Doing
Talking wasn’t enough. It was time to take action.
At Gjimnazi “Ibrahim Rugova”, students, alongside RESU activists, left their classrooms and walked to a nearby illegal dumping site. There, they didn’t just observe—they got to work. Armed with gloves and bags, they cleaned the area, turning a polluted spot into a cleaner space.
At Shkolla “Nënë Tereza”, students also took part in a cleanup action. Many of them had never done anything like this before, but once they started, they didn’t want to stop.
They picked up trash, collected data, and even received eco-friendly tote bags and notebooks as a reminder that change starts with small actions.
More Than Just a School Project
For these students, the experience was more than just an activity—it was a mindset shift.
- They didn’t just learn about pollution; they saw it.
- They didn’t just talk about solutions; they became part of them.
- They didn’t just listen; they acted.
This was just the beginning. These young minds would carry this knowledge beyond the classroom, shaping the future of environmental activism in their own communities.Because change doesn’t start in government offices—it starts right here, with the next generation.
