Traineeship in France awarded to IRIS Network candidate Megi Kushi

Professional Staff Traineeship Programme in organization of IRIS Network and SOLIDAR has officially started few weeks ago in the premises of Ligue de l’enseignement des Pyrénées atlantiques at the mountain center ‘Le Cardet à Gourette’ in France. Traineeship is involving participant in the organization and development of different activities, non-formal learning and animation with children and teenagers, among whom persons with intellectual disabilities.

After they carefully reviewed numerous applications received, the IRIS Network in cooperation with SOLIDAR confirmed participation of Megi Kushi. Let us meet her and hear the impressions of the Training.

Megi Kushi, coming from Albania, is young intern at the National Association Education for Life-SHKEJ, one of the IRIS Network member organizations. She has Master Degree in Organizational Psychology and, even though she is just 23 years old, has quite an experience in the field of social service provision and working with vulnerable groups gained through formal and non-formal education and trainings. Over the last few years she had been working with children in need – groups of Roma and Egyptian children in Albania, as well as with children with autism. Beside Albanian, she fluently speaks English and French.

Within Professional Staff Training Programme, Kushi got the opportunity to improve skills related to her psychological work-profile: She has useful conversations with the children, helps them to feel comfortable and develop their interests in social interaction, based on healthy roots of self-esteem.

“I learnt how efforts of the team are the key in organizing multidisciplinary areas that are focused on the well-being of children. I also noticed the importance of motivation as the staff priority. Cardet centre represents this perfectly”, said Kushi.

Mountain Cardet centre, which is hosting ongoing Professional Training, hosts open school – discovery classes for children during holidays. The school is providing different activities whose topics range from discovering the environment to sport and human activities, all connected to the mountain. “Children can enjoy the company of each other, explore themselves and the nature surrounding them and become engaged with life rules”, explained Kushi.

In addition, Kushi mentioned that she learns a lot spontaneously, through the work routine, the discipline and the responsibility that the mission of Cardet is accomplishing with the children. She hopes of using most of skills and knowledge gained through this Training in her future work, after she gets back to Albania.