Lezha High School and Casa Rozalba I
The JavaScript portion of the Web Development course at Lezha High School is picking up speed. Immersing oneself in a programming language is a challenge, but the course participants are gradually advancing into the deeper realms of JavaScript control structures. The students' overheated minds are cooled down with playful quiz sessions on Kahoot, through which Michelle skillfully guides as our quizmaster.
After a brief guest appearance in a class learning about Visual Basic, the Lezha delegation of the iSTEP team (Adrian, Michelle, and Olivia) moves together to Gjadër, to Casa Rozalba I. There, Adrian continues his beginner courses on general computer skills and Excel, which he had previously started online, with the young residents of the children's home. Side by side with the children and the helpers of Casa Rozalba I, we join the vibrant lunch table. Traditional Albanian dishes are served, which vaguely resemble a Swiss pasta casserole and tzatziki. Before lessons continue, everyone takes a break in the house's shared living room. Sister Maggie (actually Margerita, but nobody really calls her that) shares a bit about her career, which brought her from northern India to Albania. Before moving to Albania to support the Casa Rozalba project, she worked with NGOs on aid projects in India, including those for blind people, women receiving new opportunities, and the disabled, for whom, for example, prostheses were organized.
Michelle and Olivia then get to put their IT skills to the test. They tackle technical hurdles to ensure that all interested children can participate in the online courses later. But the IT specialists are also called upon for other tasks in the house. After solving the house psychologist’s printer issues, switching a student's notebook from Italian to English, and setting up some Discord accounts, they continue with the Excel course. When everyone is already tired, there’s a quick excursion into PowerPoint. This will likely be revisited on Thursday.
Somewhat exhausted but filled with new, exciting experiences, we begin the journey home in the packed school bus of Casa Rozalba. The bus bumps along the abandoned runway of the former military airfield in Gjadër. Taking detours through surrounding villages where some children are dropped off, we gradually approach Lezha, where the JavaScript lessons will soon continue.
