After finishing high school, like many other youngsters, Fatos Ko\u00e7i migrated to Greece in search of employment and that is where he learned all the tricks of commercial cleaning.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started exercising the experience earned in Greece at my friends\u2019 places, mainly as a hobby, but they were telling that I should push forward with my idea\u201d.<\/p>\n
And so, he returned to his home city in Fier and founded the Voice of Roma in Albania association, mainly dealing with education among Roma youth.<\/p>\n
That is where he first got a sense that in addition to challenges in education, the community encountered problems in employment, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the main problems of the Roma community is employment and I thought that this idea would prove worthy to parents\u201d, Ko\u00e7i said.<\/p>\n
According to official data, there are around 730 Roma and Egyptian families in the municipality of Fier, although the figure is widely disputed, a majority of which live in difficult conditions. The latest data presented by the Employment Office report that in 2018 \u201cabout 235 Roma and Egyptians registered as unemployed jobseekers\u201d.<\/p>\n
In light of this, Ko\u00e7i thought of sharing his experience and knowledge with others, by opening a licensed commercial cleaning enterprise, initially focused mainly on cleaning windows.<\/p>\n
He started off alone three years ago, while now the enterprise has 3 employees.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we expanded our services by offering floor cleaning, upholstery, and recently carpet washing\u201d, he tells Euronews Albania.<\/p>\n
His work did pay off as the European Union awarded<\/a> him with the 2021 Price for \u201cIntegration of Roma in the Western Balkans and Turkey\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was completely unimaginable to receive an award from the European Commission\u201d, he recounts the moment, a price awarded to extraordinary citizens and their contribution in promoting equality through employment.<\/p>\n Asked about the challenges of his daily work, Ko\u00e7i listed two, modern equipment and hiring more people. His goal is to employ even more people, particularly women.<\/p>\n While the other objective is to bring closer his work practices with EU\u2019s green policies through equipment that are environmentally friendly.<\/p>\n A clear example of that is a device used for cleaning which consumes less water and electricity, which from a financial point of view would also help reduce daily costs.<\/p>\n His plan to turn his company greener seems to have already eyes on the future as it complies with what the Albanian government has actually vowed to, in line with deal signed in Sofia.<\/p>\n On 10 November 2020, the leaders of the Western Balkans signed<\/a> the Sofia Declaration in which they pledged to join the EU initiative in making the planet carbon-neutral by 2050.<\/p>\n The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) will assist in the implementation of the agreement, where a particular part encompasses marginalized communities.<\/p>\n