Albania
Albania
Poverty, unemployment, few opportunities: Albania is one of the poorest countries in Europe. The breadwinners of the families often go abroad to work. Elderly people, women and children are left behind. The women are often unemployed or earn very little money. An important reference point for the children is the kindergarten. Most parents pay a small contribution to enable their children to attend day care.
In the 1990s, it all started with three women: Viola Grillo, Vjollca Mazi and Merita Meko (see picture), they always organized meetings with women and children in their living rooms. The heartfelt faith and the great commitment to children and youth led to the group growing quickly.
In the meantime, Herrnhuter Missionshilfe supports three institutions for children in Albania.
Background to the work in Albania: Neue Saat in Albanien - Aufbrüche in einem vormals atheistischen Land (german)
In 2010, the Moravian Church in Albania became the youngest member of the European-Continental Provinc. The work, initially a ministry among street children, dates back to 1993. Today, about 1,000 people are reached.
The magazine Weltweit verbunden - Albanien (german) provides deeper insights and background information on the work in Albania.
News from the projects
Albanian Women in Germany
The church lives from encounters. That is why the congregation of Bad Boll (with financial support from, among others, Herrnhuter Missionshilfe) invited a group of women from the six Moravian groups in Albania to southwestern Germany. Among them was the first Albanian woman pastor, Dena Grillo-Fortuzi, with her daughter Zaira. For some of the women, it was their first trip abroad. They write: “The days were filled with visits to Bad Boll, Königsfeld, Stuttgart and Ulm.” Pictures here.
From the 2024 summer camp in Pogradec, Albania
Fourteen years ago, the Moravian Church in Albania built a campsite with a large functional building on the southern shore of Lake Ohrid, the second largest lake in the Balkans, with the support of the Moravian Church's mission organisation in Denmark BDM. The campsite is usually rented out, but every year in August the Moravian Church in Albania uses the site itself for a large summer camp. Haxhi Murati, one of the oldest and most important volunteer staff from Bathore (near Tirana), said of this year's camp: "God be praised, it was a blessing for everyone involved!" A group photo in the main room of the functional building here. The theme of the camp was the question: "How does God call me?" In the centre of Pogradec, the Moravian Church also owns a church centre and a kindergarten, which have been regularly supported by Herrnhuter Missionshilfe since their foundation.
From the Women's World Day of Prayer 2024 in Albania
Across denominational and national borders, women are committed to ensuring that girls and women all over the world can live in peace, justice and dignity during the World Day of Prayer. The 2024 World Day of Prayer comes from Palestine. It was also celebrated in the Moravian Church in Albania on 1 March 2024 under the motto "...through the bond of peace". Dena Fortuzi, pastor of the church, reports: "On 1 March, we gathered our hearts and voices to pray for peace, love and patience as we celebrated the World Day of Prayer in our churches in Tirana, Burrel and Elbasan. Together in prayer with our Palestinian sisters who organised the service, we had a wonderful and blessed time and enjoyed the Palestinian food. All the services were blessed and as we proclaimed the message of carrying one another in love, we were reminded once again that despite cultural differences, we are one in spirit and all belong to the body of Christ together."
Albania in the "BDM Nyt", 4-2023
In its 24-page BDM Nyt (4-2023), the mission organisation of the Moravian Church in Denmark, Brødremenighedens Danske Mission BDM, has the pastor of the Moravian Church in Albalia, Dena Grillo-Fortuzi, reported on her diverse spiritual and social work. Here are some excerpts from the report in German: "In the town of Lezha, we have two groups of 20 children each who take part in our Additional Education Programme for children in grades 1 to 9. The cooperation with the Roma community is a blessing and we see its fruits day by day ... The first phase of the Personal Care for Women programme was carried out with the aim of raising awareness of good hygiene and personal hygiene and the need to prevent various diseases ... Three open days were held in Pogradec, Burrel and Tirana. At each of these popular meetings, women were able to consult a female doctor free of charge."
Dena Fortuzi at her first baptisms in Albania
In a recent appeal for donations by Arngeir Langås, Brødremenighedens Danske Mission, the sister organisation of Herrnhuter Missionshilfe in Denmark, shows the young Albanian pastor Dena Fortuzi at her first baptisms. Only a few weeks ago, Dena Fortuzi had been ordained and inducted as the Moravian Church's first indigenous pastor. She was assisted in the baptisms by Jørgen Bøytler (DK), the Unity Board Administrator. Baptised was church member Tereza with her two children. "I wanted my children to be baptised together with me so that we can follow Jesus Christ together," explained the mother of the children. The Moravian Church in Albania celebrated its 30th anniversary in the summer of 2023. More than 80 percent of its members are women, children and young people. From the beginning, it has been accompanied by the Moravian Church in Denmark in particular. However, Herrnhuter Missionshilfe also financed many projects and maintained contacts.
Unity Women's Desk launches survey on women's ordination
On 21 August 2023, the annual commemoration of the beginnings of the Herrnhut Mission in 1732, the Unity Women's Desk UWD launched a survey on women's ordination. See here. The text says: "Pastors, bishops and lay people, we ask you to participate in this survey. Please send us your comments and concerns about the ordination of women and the question of women in leadership positions in the Moravian Church - locally in your congregations and also in the worldwide Unity. We will use your responses to supplement the reports we have already received on this issue from the individual Unity provinces. We will not mention your names in the evaluation of the survey. If you would like to submit your answers anonymously, please contact the coordinator of the Unity Women's Desk in your province. Thank you for your help! If you have any questions, please email Julie Tomberlin: julie.unitywomen@gmail.com or phone: +1 336 575-8577."
Kindergartens Albania
The Project in Burrel
One of the kindergartens is located in Burrel. There, the children are happy to have a large garden to play in. "We want to show the children nature. Many are very rarely outside," reports Lindita Skonja, a kindergarten teacher in Burrel. Craft items to keep the children occupied are especially needed. "Many parents leave their children at home to save on kindergarten fees," Skonja says. As a result, the children have little social contact and have a harder time when they start school.
The Project in Pogradec
The children who attend the kindergarten in Pogradec come from a neighborhood that has only been developed in the last 15 years. The families who live there have left their home villages to build a better life in the city. However, there are not many jobs here either, so joblessness and hopelessness are often very high. Despite this environment, the kindergarten wants to give the children a good start in life. In addition to singing, handicrafts and storytelling, learning the first letters and numbers is also part of the preschool curriculum. Each child is therefore given an education set. This consists of textbooks, exercise books, and writing and painting utensils.
The Project in Elbasan
Another kindergarten is located in Elbasan. There, children with disabilities such as autism, Asperger's symptom and ADHD are cared for. These children are in urgent need of help, as they depend on qualified caregivers. Elbasan was a city of heavy industry during the communist system. People and the environment were exposed to extreme stress. Malformed children and animals were born. Cancers were on the rise. Since the collapse of the system, Elbasan has been almost meaningless as an industrial center. What remains are the bodies of people contaminated with heavy metal. Children are still born without limbs and with other deformities, and the number of cancer cases is above average. What is crucial is the plight of the parents and children, who should be urgently supported and accompanied. The earlier a disability is discovered and treated, the greater the successes.
Target groups
The project's target groups are preschool children between the ages of 3 and 6. The project includes a support program for poor and destitute children as well as mentally handicapped children who need special attention. The children's families and teachers also benefit from the facilities.
Project goals
- Through various holistic therapeutic measures, the facility contributes to the comprehensive support of children and adolescents with mental disabilities.
- To offer children from poor and destitute families a good start in life.
- Care and environment suitable for children
Activities
- School preparation and equipment School materials
- Care for children with disabilities
- Psychological support for families
Project progress
The kindergarten projects supported by Herrnhuter Missionshilfe are valued institutions for the support of children with mental disabilities in Albania. Poor and destitute children are also supported. The number of new enrollments has increased significantly in recent years. The need for care is there for the children and their families and is gratefully accepted. In addition to important social contacts with other children, the little ones also acquire preschool skills such as learning their first letters or numbers. Important skills for later success in school.
Project Managers and Project Partners
Bettina Nasgowitz | Markus Kuhn |
| Tel. +49 (0)7164 9421-22 bettina.nasgowitz@ebu.de | Tel. +49 (0)7164 9421-23 markus.kuhn@ebu.de |
together with
Lutheran and Moravian Church in Albania
Donation Kindergartens Albania
Donation Account
Herrnhuter Missionshilfe e.V.
IBAN: DE25 5206 0410 0000 4151 03
BIC: GENODEF1EK1, Evangelische Bank
Project 1671 Kindergartens Albania