In the Southeastern nation of Albania, girls in the villages often tell the same story. For Albana, and other ten-year old girls like her, the first day of school is exciting. She runs down the street in her village of Kukes to make it on time, afraid she will be late. But her school is not just around the corner, it across the border in Kosovo and she has to walk nearly an hour to get there. There is no bus and no companion for her to walk with. The one friend she did have who would  accompany her on the long trek, dropped out of school as her parents said the trip was too dangerous for girls.  So, now Albana is alone and afraid she won’t be able to make the walk when the snow comes and fearful that her parents too may stop her education. She fiercely hopes for a change.

To bring that change to young vulnerable girls like Albana , Albania took a key step towards gender equality in July. The national Council of Ministers approved a gender mainstreaming