"I've Watched Them Grow Up": A social worker's journey with one Venezuelan family in Albania
"I've Watched Them Grow Up": A social worker's journey with one Venezuelan family in Albania
Katerin, who arrived in Albania from Venezuela as a child, speaks at a World Refugee Day event in Tirana, reflecting on how education helped her rebuild her future.
As Katerin stood before an audience at Europe House in Tirana this June, speaking confidently in Albanian about her journey from Venezuela to Albania, social worker Beci found herself reflecting on the previous nine years and how far Katerin had come.
"For me, the turning point was school," Katerin told participants gathered for the World Refugee Day event. "It was more than just a place to learn. It was where I found stability, where I learned the language, built friendships, and began to feel that I truly belonged."
For many in the room, it was a powerful reflection on the importance of education. For Beci, it was also deeply personal.
"I was very happy, emotional, and proud," she recalls. "I kept thinking about the young girl I had met years earlier after she arrived in Albania with her mother and sisters. Seeing her speaking so confidently in Albanian about her journey was incredibly moving."
When Beci first met the Awad family in 2017, three daughters stood beside their mother, taking their first steps in a country that was entirely new to them.
Having fled Venezuela in search of safety, the family arrived in Albania carrying the uncertainty familiar to many refugees forced to leave everything behind. The daughters, then aged 9, 10 and 17, were entering a new school system, learning a new language, and adapting to a new culture far from the home they had known.
Nearly nine years later, Beci still remembers those early days.
"The girls were young when they arrived," she recalls. "Today, they are confident young women with their own ambitions and plans for the future. I've watched them grow up."
As a social worker with Refugee and Migrant Services in Albania (RMSA), UNHCR's partner, Beci has accompanied the family through nearly every stage of their integration journey. Over the years, she has seen them navigate challenges, celebrate achievements, and gradually build a life for themselves in Albania.
In the beginning, the focus was on helping the family meet their immediate needs. Rent and utility support provided stability while the mother worked to establish a new life for herself and her daughters. Once she obtained subsidiary protection status in Albania , and the necessary documentation, she was supported in accessing employment opportunities, allowing the family to gradually become self-reliant.
But for Beci, one priority remained constant throughout those years: ensuring that the daughters could continue their education.
"Their mother was always determined to give her daughters opportunities," says Beci. "She wanted them to learn, succeed, and build a future for themselves."
Katerin and Beci during a recent meeting in Tirana. Since first meeting shortly after the family's arrival in Albania in 2017, they have shared many milestones along the family's integration journey.
With support from RMSA, all three daughters enrolled in Albanian schools and continued progressing year after year. School quickly became much more than a place of learning. It became a source of stability, confidence, and belonging.
Education continued to open doors for the three sisters.
The eldest daughter enrolled in university, with support from UNHCR and RMSA helping cover part of her tuition fees. After completing her studies, she entered the workforce and now works alongside her mother.
Katerin recently completed high school and will begin university studies while also working, balancing her academic aspirations with the responsibilities of professional life. Meanwhile, the youngest daughter is preparing to enter her third year of high school and continues to perform well in her studies.
Today, all three daughters speak fluent Albanian. At home, however, Spanish remains the language of family conversations, helping them maintain a strong connection to their Venezuelan roots.
"It is wonderful to see how naturally they move between the two languages," says Beci. "They have kept their identity while also becoming part of Albanian society."
Beyond the classroom and workplace, the family has become actively involved in community life.
Over the years, they have regularly participated in social, cultural, and sports activities organized by RMSA, not only taking part but contributing through their energy and enthusiasm. One recent moment Beci remembers with particular warmth was the family's participation in the 2025 Unity Cup in the Netherlands, where they proudly represented Team Albania.
Beci and members of the Awad family during the 2025 Unity Cup in the Netherlands, where they represented Team Albania in a celebration of inclusion, teamwork and belonging.
For Beci, it remains one of the most memorable and heartwarming moments she has shared with the family.
"Watching them represent Albania abroad was incredibly emotional," she says. "When I first met them, they had recently arrived after fleeing Venezuela in search of safety. Years later, seeing them travel as part of Team Albania and proudly represent the country where they rebuilt their lives was something I could never have imagined back then."
For Beci, the experience reflected just how far the family had come. The daughters who once arrived in Albania facing an uncertain future had grown into confident young women actively participating in their communities, building friendships, and embracing new opportunities.
Throughout the years, the family has also taken part in educational and vocational training opportunities that helped strengthen skills, build confidence, and expand future opportunities.
Over the past year, two of the daughters participated in vocational courses supported through the European Union-funded EU4Migration project. One completed training in manicure and pedicure, while another attended a beauty course, allowing them to develop practical skills and explore additional career opportunities.
"These opportunities help young people build confidence and discover new pathways for their future," says Beci. "Sometimes a course is not only about learning a skill. It is about realizing what you are capable of achieving."
Through the European Union-funded EU4Migration project, refugees and asylum-seekers in Albania can access skills-development opportunities that promote inclusion and self-reliance. At the national level, UNHCR works with authorities to strengthen policies and systems that support refugee integration. At the community level, partners such as RMSA translate these efforts into practical support, helping families overcome everyday barriers and build independent lives. The project has supported vocational training opportunities for members of the Awad family, while also enabling social workers such as Beci to continue providing guidance and support.
While the Awad family's journey began long before EU4Migration, the project has helped ensure continued support during an important stage of their integration, as the daughters transition into higher education, employment, and adulthood.
For Beci, this highlights why integration support remains important long after a family's arrival.
"People often think integration happens shortly after arrival," she says. "But integration is a long process. It happens through everyday moments: the first day of school, learning a new language, graduating, finding a job, building relationships, and feeling that you belong."
Today, conversations with the family are very different from those first meetings in 2017. What once centered on housing, documentation, and school enrolment now focuses on university studies, employment, and future plans.
As Katerin reminded an audience of authorities, diplomats, and civil society representatives on World Refugee Day:
"Today is a reminder that behind every story there are people with skills, ambitions, and dreams."
For Beci, those words capture the family's journey perfectly.
Looking back on nearly nine years alongside the family, she smiles.
"I've watched them grow up," she says. "You see people arrive during one of the most difficult moments of their lives, and years later you see them thriving. That's what integration looks like."
